India Adds Record 1,538 MW of Solar Rooftop by September 30: Report

The report said that the solar capacity is expected to reach 15.3 GW by March 2022 in a scenario where the growth takes place at the current rate.

Pioneering as a leader in solar energy, India installed a record 1,538 MW of solar rooftop in the year ended September 30, 2018, bringing the total rooftop solar capacity to 3,399 MW, according to a report by consulting firm Bridge to India.

The report said that the solar capacity is expected to reach 15.3 GW by March 2022 in a scenario where the growth takes place at the current rate without any change. India’s target for solar rooftop is 40 GW by 2022.

Commercial and industrial installation is dominating the market with a share of 70%, the report said while also mentioning that the residential segment is lagging behind with just 9%.

The study also highlighted that Maharashtra (473 MW), Tamil Nadu (312 MW), Karnataka (272 MW), Rajasthan (270 MW) and Uttar Pradesh (223 MW) are the top five states accounting for 54 per cent share of the total market.

The report further mentioned that the CAPEX market is even getting more fragmented with top 10 players having a share of only 18 per cent (21 per cent last year).

The top 3 players include Tata Power (4.4 per cent), Mahindra (2 per cent) and Sunsure (2 per cent).

Chinese players are having a command in the invertor sector with a combined share of 43%, the repot highlighted.

Managing Director of Bridge to India, Vinay Rustagi said, “75 per cent growth in a year plagued by safeguard duty and GST uncertainty is absolutely fantastic. Ongoing fall in module (solar) price should continue to drive growth in the next few years.”

He further added that, “Rooftop solar has huge growth potential and should be given more policy support particularly when utility scale solar is increasing facing acute land and transmission connectivity challenges.”

Source: PTI