India’s Utility Solar Capacity Grows 72% in 2017-18, says Bridge To India Report

The total solar installation was 10.4 GW, the rest comprising rooftop solar plants and off-grid solutions, taking India’s cumulative solar capacity to 24.4 GW, it said.

Solar consultancy firm Bridge To India in its latest annual report on the sector said that India’s utility solar capacity grew by a whopping 72 percent in FY18 as compared to the previous year. It installed 9.1 GW of utility solar over 5.5 GW in 2016-17.

The total solar installation was 10.4 GW, the rest comprising rooftop solar plants and off-grid solutions, taking India’s cumulative solar capacity to 24.4 GW, it said.

The report further noted that solar capacity addition in FY18 was higher than that of all other energy sources, both conventional and renewable, combined. In comparison coal and wind only added 4.6 GW and 1.7 GW respectively.

Among the states, Karnataka added the most capacity at 4.1 GW, which was 46 percent of total capacity installed in 2017-18, followed by Telangana (3.28 GW), Rajasthan (2.3 GW), Andhra Pradesh (2.28 GW) and Tamil Nadu (1.86 GW).

According to the study, Adani Green Energy, Renew Power and Acme Solar were the top 3 developers in FY18, installing a total capacity of 2.3 GW among them.

Commenting on the development, Bridge to India, Managing Director, Vinay Rustagi said, “Indian solar market has grown spectacularly over last four years. But we are still only at 24.4 GW, way short of the 100 GW target.”

The study, however, estimates that capacity addition will be lower in FY19 because of a slowdown in tender activity in late 2016 and early 2017. The majority of installations this year were driven by state government tenders.

Rustagi further added that, “While falling prices and government support have helped in boosting demand, supply side factors like land and transmission still remain a concern.”

Source: ET