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. 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. 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. 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. Earlier, a report by global energy think tank Ember also found that a total of 2,300 GWh of solar power was curtailed under a mechanism called Emergency Tertiary Reserves Ancillary Services …