Stalled solar and hybrid projects may exit over weak demand
Summary
The renewables ministry says many stalled plain-solar and some high-tariff hybrid projects may end up walking away because they cannot secure power purchase agreements. MNRE secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi said the ministry has asked renewable energy implementing agencies to work with discoms to salvage the projects, including by changing their project profile where possible.
Practical Impact
The pressure is on projects that already have transmission connectivity but have still not reached the PPA stage. A July 2026 CERC order lets eligible developers exit the LoA route without losing that connectivity, which makes cancellation less costly but also shows how weak demand has become for some bids. Developers are responding by adding battery storage to make solar power more useful to discoms.
Key Uncertainty
Sarangi said cancellation is not the ministry’s first choice, but he also warned that REIAs may have to cancel tenders if buyers do not materialise.
A CERC staff paper last November said more than 45 GW of renewable capacity had connectivity without moving to PPAs, but the current article does not say how much of that has now been resolved.