Even as India’s electricity demand touched a record high in April amid an early summer heatwave, on average 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of solar power were curtailed every day — enough to serve one-fourth of Delhi for a day. Curtailment — when grid operators ask renewable energy plants to reduce generation to maintain system stability — translates into a substantial loss of clean electricity at a time when India is accelerating its clean energy transition. An analysis of data from the Grid Controller of India (Grid India) shows that solar curtailment in April was 74% higher than the combined curtailment recorded in January, February and March, signalling growing stress in the power system even as daytime demand surged. According to data from Grid India, at least 693.81 GWh of solar power was curtailed, compared to a total of 399.34 GWh curtailed between January and March.…