India Installed 2.3 GW of new Solar Capacity in the Last Quarter of 2019

India installed 2,308 MW (2.3 GW) of solar capacity and 817 MW wind projects in Q4 of 2019, according to a new report

India installed 2,308 MW (2.3 GW) of solar capacity and 817 MW wind projects in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2019, according to a new report. The report published by research firm JMK Research and Analytics also found that the quarter saw a significant increase in installed capacity across the wind and solar, clocking an overall 40 percent growth over the previous quarter.

“India commissioned 34 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity and 38 GW of wind capacity as of 31 December 2019. The current pipeline of solar and wind projects stands at 32 GW, which is likely to be commissioned in the next two to three years,” the firm said in its renewable sector update.

It added that the utility-scale solar segment saw an addition of 7.5 GW and 2.7 GW in wind in 2019. According to the research, about 15 GW of new capacity addition is expected in 2020 including 4 GW of wind installations and 11 GW of utility-scale solar installations. Regarding quarterly estimates, it said, “In the next two quarters — Q4 2019 and Q1 2020 — the addition of about 6 GW of new solar capacity and 2 GW of new wind capacity is expected.”

In this quarter, the government issued 41 tenders with an aggregate capacity of 4.5 GW across the solar and wind sector. And in the rooftop solar segment, 23 new tenders under the capex and RESCO models were announced, the report added.

India’s renewable capacity installations reached 86 GW as of December 31, 2019. Wind energy remains the biggest contributor with a 44 percent share in the total renewable energy mix, closely followed by solar with 39 percent share, and closing in fast.

About 2.4 GW of new wind capacity was added in 2019, which was a 10 percent increase over 2018. Gujarat led the installations with the commissioning of 1.4 GW of new wind projects followed by Tamil Nadu with 650 MW and Maharashtra with 212 MW.

Recently, per a new report, India’s solar and wind generation capacity has been predicted to reach 135 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2024 up from the 77 GW capacity it had reached at the end of 2019. “Notwithstanding the various operational and financial challenges and growing risk aversion, we expect the record low solar tariff level to be breached in the next one to two years,” said renewable energy consultancy Bridge to India in its report titled ‘India renewables outlook 2024’.