India’s ambitious clean energy transition is faltering as transmission infrastructure struggles to keep pace with the growth of renewable energy generation. A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research & Analytics reveals that over 50 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity is stranded nationwide as of June 2025, delaying projects, inflating costs, and undermining investor confidence.
In FY25, India added just 8,830 circuit kilometres (ckm) of transmission lines against a target of 15,253 ckm, reflecting a 42 per cent shortfall, with inter-state additions hitting their lowest level in a decade. This widening gap between generation and evacuation has created systemic inefficiencies.
Analysis shows up to 71 per cent of India’s interstate corridors operate below 30 per cent utilisation, highlighting the mismatch between infrastructure and power flows.
“India’s grid is not expanding fast enough to keep up with its renewable ambitions,” the report notes, warning that stranded projects are driving up per-unit transmission costs and threatening project viability.
“In several high-demand corridors, speculative hoarding of transmission capacity by entities without genuine project intent has driven up connectivity prices and delayed access for viable projects,” says the report’s contributing author, Vibhuti Garg, Director – South Asia, IEEFA.
Prabhakar Sharma, co-author of the report and a senior consultant at JMK Research, highlighted, “Right-of-way (RoW) issues, extended land acquisition timelines, restrictions on equipment procurement, and multi-agency approvals also contribute to delays.”
Despite increased private sector participation under Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding, India’s overall transmission expansion has been slow and remains below National Electricity Policy targets. Annual transmission line additions have fallen short of planned levels since FY19, with only FY21 surpassing expectations.
“While government initiatives like the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) and the General Network Access (GNA) framework have given a boost to transmission infrastructure, there is scope to accelerate greenfield development by promoting structured Public-Private Partnership models that enable efficient risk-sharing and faster execution,” according to Pulkit Moudgil, Research Associate, JMK Research & Analytics.
As of June 2025, the GEC has enabled the commissioning of 27.45GW of renewable energy capacity, with an additional 36 GW in the pipeline across ISTS and Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) Phases I and II. Other initiatives, such as ISTS charge waivers, indirectly support the expansion of ISTS transmission infrastructure.
The GNA third amendment introduces a more flexible allocation model, dividing GNA for renewable projects into solar and non-solar hours. This ensures transmission capacity is better aligned with actual generation patterns, unlocking capacity that would have otherwise remained idle.
The problem is stark in Rajasthan, where 8 GW of clean power remains stuck, with nearly half curtailed during peak solar hours due to delays in transmission build-out and ecological directives mandating underground cabling in bird habitats.
“India’s renewable energy transition also faces a growing challenge of underutilised transmission assets. Underutilisation occurs when transmission corridors, designed to carry renewable energy, operate below their intended capacity for prolonged periods. Some degree of underutilisation is temporary, as it reflects strategic overbuilding to meet future demand growth,” said Chirag Tewani, senior research associate, JMK Research and a co-author of the report.
Compounding matters, speculative hoarding of transmission capacity is creating artificial scarcity. In hotspots like Fatehgarh and Bikaner, developers are paying premiums of up to ₹40 lakh per megawatt (MW) to secure grid access.
Therefore, the report urges urgent reforms:
Unified generation-transmission planning to align timelines,
A single-window clearance system for land and right-of-way approvals,
Performance-based incentives to ensure timely commissioning,
And accelerated adoption of storage and reconductoring to optimise grid use.
Without these changes, IEEFA warns, India risks missing its clean energy milestones.
“Transmission is now the weakest link in India’s green power journey. Unless fixed, the bottleneck will stall the country’s march towards 500GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030.”