India’s total installed solar capacity crosses 10 GW milestone: Bridge To India

Indian solar capacity included rooftop and off-grid has crossed 10GW mark says Bridge To India in its latest report.

According to the consultancy firm India will add new solar capacity of 5.1 GW this year, which is a growth of 137% over last year. It also expects average annual capacity addition of 8-10 GW per annum from next year onwards. The pace in this sector has picked up tremendously in the last two years due to government support and increasing price competitiveness of solar power.

 India is expected to become the world’s third biggest solar market from next year onwards after China and the USA.

Managing Director Vinay Rustagi speaking to PTI said, “Many people are going to ask the obvious question – if we have taken more than 5 years to achieve 10 GW, can we reach 100 GW in another 5 years? It is a very steep target in our view.” He added “But rather than quibble about the target, the important point is to acknowledge the transformational economic, environmental and social potential of solar technology and to create a conducive environment for its growth.”

The report states that Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) one of the most important scheme which aims to strengthen India’s weak distribution sector has already shown extremely positive results in the short-term. At least eight of the 17 states/union territories including some of the worst performing states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh that have joined the UDAY scheme so far have reduced the deficit per unit of electricity. Moreover, 13 states/union territories have reported a material decline in Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses.

The solar park scheme has also been very instrumental in tackling the two major issues of land acquisition and power evacuation for project development. Some key themes can be observed in the growth of the Indian solar market so far. Amongst states, Tamil Nadu has the highest installed capacity, followed by Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. These seven states collectively account for more than 80% of total installed capacity as of mid-November, 2016.

Utility-scale solar accounts for more than 85% of total installed capacity. Rooftop solar, so far about 10% of the sector, has also been growing at a very healthy CAGR of 98% from 2011 to 2015 and is expected to play an increasingly important role in the sector said Bridge To India in its report.

Booming Indian solar market has attracted attention of leading investors from both India and other countries including USA, Europe, Japan and China.