India's renewable sector hit by tender‑of‑offtake gap and tighter grid rules

State‑run power producer SJVN warned that the volume of renewable energy tenders far exceeds the demand from distribution companies. The firm has awarded about 16 GW of solar, wind, hybrid and storage projects while power sale agreements have been signed for only roughly 6 GW. Chairman Bhupender Gupta said, "The problem is that a lot of tenders came into the market simultaneously. Demand from DISCOMs has not been that much," noting the mismatch is common across major tendering agencies. SJVN is shifting its pipeline toward solar‑plus‑storage and hybrid projects and has already commissioned a 1 GW solar plant in Rajasthan.

At the same time, India’s regulator will tighten grid‑discipline rules in April 2027, raising penalties for deviations between scheduled and actual generation. Analysts estimate the new regime could cut solar revenues by about 11% and wind revenues by up to 48%, lowering internal rates of return and prompting concerns from domestic and foreign investors, including KKR, CPPIB and Actis. The developments come as India seeks to reach 500 GW of non‑fossil capacity by 2030, with current installed capacity at 288 GW.