Lok Sabha Question No. 4558 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-27
Subject: Sudden Dip in Solar Power Production Capacity
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4558 ANSWERED ON 27.03.2025

## SUDDEN DIP IN SOLAR POWER PRODUCTION CAPACITY

4558.   SHRI CHAVAN RAVINDRA VASANTRAO: SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE: SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

(a) whether clouds over vast swathes has resulted in sudden dip in solar power production capacity  in  the  country  during  the  last  few  months  raising  worries  about  the  stability  of powergrids and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether sudden dip due to low production and surge in power due to over production can damage the power grid and sometimes lead to spark and fires in the grid;

(c) if so, the details thereof and safety preventive measures taken by the Government in this regard;

(d) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  strike  balance  between  renewable source of energy and other conventional source of energy so that the distribution of power may not be affected in the near future; and

(e) whether  Grid  India  is  working  with  several  stakeholders  to  improve  weather  forecast required for renewable power generation and if so, the details thereof?

## A N S W E R

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

(a) : There have been few instances of sudden dip in solar power generation in the country in recent months. The details of dip in Solar Power generation during past three months (December, 2024 to February, 2025) are given at Annexure.

(b) & (c) : Sudden dip in solar generation leads to demand-supply gap resulting in low frequency & localised high voltages in grid. Similarly, sudden ramp up in solar generation after clearance of cloud cover may lead to high frequency & localised low voltages in grid. The demand supply gap due to change in renewable generation have to be compensated by other generating resources for frequency control and reactive power support.  In this regard, following preventive measures have been taken :

- (i) Automatic Generation Control (AGC) maintains frequency stability by sending Secondary Reserve Ancillary  Services  (SRAS)  Up  or  Down  signals  every  4  seconds  to  AGC-enabled thermal and hydro power plants.
- (ii) During dip in RE generation, additional generation from thermal based power plants under Tertiary Reserve Ancillary Services (TRAS) is provided to maintain frequency in the band as defined in the Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC).
- (iii) Mode of Pump Storage plants are also changed to support active power.
- (iv) The generators with high ramp rate viz hydro/ gas are also brought on bar to maintain load generation balance.

- (v) Renewable Energy (RE) Plants are also instructed to revise schedule promptly.
- (vi) Reactor switching is done so as to keep Voltages in RE plants within desired range for secure & reliable grid operation.
- (vii) Mode of operation of RE Plants/Reactive Power compensation devices are also changed as per Reactive Power requirement of the grid.
- (viii) Reactive Power support is also taken from on bar thermal, hydro and nuclear generators.

(d) : The  Government  of  India  has  recognised  the  need  for  striking  a  balance  between Renewable  Source  of  Energy  and  Conventional  source  of  energy  to  meet  the  growing  power demand.  As  per  National  Electricity  Plan  (NEP)  prepared  by  CEA,  GoI  has  targeted  874  GW installed capacity by 2031-32. This includes capacity of 304 GW from conventional sources - Coal, Lignite, Gas, Nuclear and 570 GW from renewable sources - Solar, Wind, Biomass and Hydro. To achieve these targets, Government of India has initiated following capacity addition programme:

- (i)  Government of India has proposed in November 2023 for setting up of an additional minimum 80,000 MW coal based capacity by 2031-32. Against this target, coal based capacity of 9,350 MW has already been commissioned in 2023-24 & 2024-25. 32,300 MW Thermal Capacity is under construction and contracts for 23,440 MW thermal capacity have been awarded in FY 2024-25. Further, 35,180 MW of coal and lignite based candidate capacity has been identified which is at various stages of planning in the country.
- (ii)  13,997.5 MW of Hydro Electric Projects are under construction. Further, 24,225.5 MW of Hydro Electric  Projects  are  under  various  stage  of  planning  and  targeted  to  be  completed  by 2031-32.
- (iii) 7,300 MW of Nuclear Capacity is under construction and targeted to be completed by 2029-30. 7,000 MW of Nuclear Capacity is under various stages of planning and approval.
- (iv) 1,53,920  MW  Renewable  Capacity  including  84,310  MW  of  Solar,  28,280  MW  of  Wind  and 40,890  MW  Hybrid  power  is  under  construction  while  70,210  MW  of  Renewable  Capacity including  46,670  MW  of  Solar,  600  MW  of  Wind  and    22,940  MW  Hybrid  Power  is  at  various stages of planning and targeted to be completed by 2029-30.
- (v)  In energy storage systems, 13,050 MW/78,300 MWh Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) are under construction/concurred and 14,970 MW/54,803 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) are currently under various stages of construction/bidding.

Further, following measures have been taken to ensure reliability and stability of the National Grid: -

- (i) Development of intra-state transmission network is being planned to keep pace with RE capacity addition. Strong inter connection of ISTS RE schemes with the intra-state network  to  ensure  better  reliability  in  terms  of  anchoring  voltage  stability,  angular stability, losses reduction etc. is being done.
- (ii) Central  Financial  Assistance  (CFA)  is  being  provided  to  the  States  for  setting  up Transmission  infrastructure  for  RE  integration  within  their  State  under  the  Green Energy Corridor Scheme.
- (iii) Resource  Adequacy  Plan  (RAP)  has  been  prepared  and  both  Long  Term  (LTRAP)  & Short Term (STRAP) have been mandated.  This would bring requirements of peaking and flexible resources to balance the demand and supply in all time blocks.
- (iv) Encouraging setting up of RE projects with storage facilities for optimal utilisation of transmission facilities.
- (v) Flexibilization  of  thermal  generation  is  mandated  to  address  the  variability  of  RE generation.

..........3.

- (vi) CEA  (Technical  Standards  for  Connectivity  to  the  Grid)  Regulations  lay  down  the minimum  technical  requirements  for  the  RE  generating  plants  to  ensure  the  safe, secure and reliable operation of the grid. The compliances to the said regulations by RE  plants  are  verified  jointly  by  Central  Transmission  Utility  (CTUIL)  and  GridIndia/RLDCs before granting connectivity/interconnection to the national grid.  Robust compliances verification is done before interconnection of any new plant to the grid.
- (vii) Indian  Electricity  Grid  Code  mandates  that  RE  plants  participate  in  the  primary  and secondary frequency control in case of contingencies. Hybrid RE power plants, Energy Storage  Systems  such  as  BESS  (Battery  Energy  Storage  System)  and  PSP  (Pump Storage  Project)  are  being  promoted  for  mitigating  variability  in  RE  generation  and provide adequate frequency support to the grid.
- (viii) Establishment of 13 No. of Renewable Energy Management Centres (REMC) in RE rich States and Regions for dedicated monitoring, forecasting and scheduling of Solar and Wind plants.

(e) :   Ministry of Power (MoP) and Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) have been interacting very closely  and  regularly  to  ensure  sharing  of  accurate  weather  data  with  stakeholders  for  RE generation  forecasting.  As  a  result  of  close  coordination  between  the  two  Ministries,  India Meteorological  Department  (IMD),  National  Centre  for  Medium  Range  Weather  Forecasting (NCMRWF) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are sharing weather forecast data with various stakeholders which is being utilised for Renewable Energy (RE) and demand forecasting. Further, Weather data of all Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) connected RE Plants is being shared by Grid-India with NCMRWF four times a day through secure API (Application Programming Interface) for improving weather forecast.

Ministry of Power has modified the guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for  procurement  of  power  from  grid  connected  Solar  PV  power  projects  on  12 th   Feb  2025.  The amended  bidding  guidelines  mandate  the  developers  to  install  and  maintain  GPS  enabled Automatic Weather Station (AWS) as per the technical specifications and standards specified by relevant central government agency. Availability of weather measurements from AWS placed at the RE complex will further enhance the quality of weather forecasting for all stakeholders.

In addition, IIT Bombay has been engaged for development of indigenous RE Forecasting Tool.

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ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4558 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 27.03.2025

************* The  details  of  dip  in  Solar  Power  generation  during  past  three  months (December, 2024 to February, 2025):

| Date      |   All India Solar generation (MU) |   % Dip from previous day |
|-----------|-----------------------------------|---------------------------|
| 26-Dec-24 |                            227.33 |                    -19.5  |
| 27-Dec-24 |                            222.41 |                     -2.16 |
| 11-Jan-25 |                            301.1  |                    -15.36 |
| 18-Feb-25 |                            447.14 |                     -4.16 |
| 19-Feb-25 |                            406.41 |                     -9.11 |
| 25-Feb-25 |                            382.64 |                    -18.96 |

*************