Karnataka warned of looming power crisis despite renewable surplus

By A Representative 

A detailed communication addressed to senior officials in the Karnataka government and the Union Ministries of Power and New and Renewable Energy has warned that the state is entering a phase of structural power imbalance in which annual energy surplus coexists with rising peak-time shortages. 

The letter, written by Shankar Sharma, a power and climate policy analyst and former power-sector professional from Sagara in the Western Ghats, draws attention to what he describes as Karnataka’s “renewable paradox”: a projected surplus of 5,300 million units (MU) in 2027, alongside a forecast deficit of nearly 500 hours during peak demand in the same period. Citing a recent report in Down To Earth magazine, he argues that this mismatch is becoming increasingly common across states and could create significant financial and operational stress for the national power sector.

According to Sharma, the combination of daytime surplus solar generation, inflexible coal power schedules, and inadequate energy storage means that valuable renewable power is being routinely wasted or curtailed, compelling utilities to pay private generators to back down. He notes that curtailment losses in some states have reached 20–25 percent, and on certain days in October 2025, nearly 40 percent of solar output was denied grid access. The situation, he warns, is emerging as a nationwide concern, with media reports indicating that nearly 44 GW of renewable projects are unable to secure buyers in state utilities. If unaddressed, he states, this may jeopardize the country’s target of achieving 500 GW of clean energy capacity by 2030.

The communication attributes the crisis primarily to the absence of effective demand-side management and the lack of timely investments in energy storage. Sharma argues that India’s power planning continues to rely on outdated methods, leaving peak-hour deficits unmitigated and forcing coal power plants to operate below optimal plant load factors. At the same time, the transition toward large-scale renewable parks has not been matched by expansion of storage capacity. He criticises what he sees as an over-reliance on pumped storage projects (PSPs), which typically require five to eight years for completion and may involve major ecological impacts.

A major section of the letter focuses on Karnataka’s proposed 2,000 MW Sharavati pumped storage project, which is facing strong opposition due to its location in the Western Ghats. Sharma argues that the project is based on inadequate assessment, overlooks faster and less destructive alternatives such as battery energy storage systems (BESS), and fails to justify its siting within a protected biodiversity hotspot. He notes that BESS technology offers higher efficiency, shorter gestation periods of under a year, minimal land requirements, and negligible environmental impact. He contrasts this with the national government’s reported identification of nearly 200,000 MW in potential PSP sites, warning that widespread construction of such projects could seriously damage fragile river-valley ecosystems.

The letter points out that many states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, have already floated tenders for stand-alone BESS in the 1,500–2,000 MW range, indicating the growing acceptance of the technology. Karnataka itself has initiated two projects of around 100–120 MW. Sharma argues that if BESS were not economically viable, such tenders would not exist, and he questions why long-gestation PSPs continue to receive priority despite better alternatives.

He also highlights the absence of a national energy policy and criticises the lack of coordinated planning across states and ministries. A draft national energy policy prepared in 2017, he notes, has yet to be finalised, resulting in fragmented strategies that fail to account for India’s changing energy landscape.

The communication proposes multiple measures to address the emerging crisis, including mandatory storage components for large renewable projects, deployment of BESS at substation level in every taluk, expansion of distributed solar—especially rooftop and farm-based systems—development of smart mini-grids in rural areas, and shifting energy-intensive industries and new sectors such as data centres and electric mobility toward self-supplied renewable energy backed by storage. He also argues that solar-powered irrigation pumps with grid export capability could transform rural energy economics by reducing subsidies and enabling farmers to earn revenue from surplus power.

In conclusion, Sharma warns that without urgent corrective action, Karnataka and India may face escalating financial losses, environmental impacts, and grid-management challenges. He calls for political will, transparent public engagement and rigorous long-term planning to prevent deeper crises. “The dangers ahead are clearly written on the wall,” he writes, urging central and state authorities to act decisively to avoid a cycle of energy surplus and scarcity that could undermine the country’s clean-energy transition and economic growth trajectory.