India adds record 15 GW of solar capacity in H1 2024
India has installed a record 15 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity in the first half of 2024, an increase of 282% year to year, the highest half-yearly and annual installations to date, due to the commissioning of several previously delayed projects, according to research company Mercom India on August 22.
The Country added 5 GW of solar capacity in quarter two, an increase of 170% year to year from 1.8 GW, but down 49% quarter to quarter from 9.9 GW. According to Mercom, 4.3 GW of large-scale solar projects including 1.8 GW of open access projects were commissioned in Q2. Although large-scale capacity additions rose 191% year to year, they fell 55% quarter to quarter.
The reimposition of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) from April 1 had impacted several open access projects in addition to grid connectivity and transmission infrastructure delays during the second quarter. Moreover, Q1 solar installations had surged ahead of the ALKMM reimposition, Priyadarshini Sanjay, Managing Director at Mercom India said. The states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka led large-scale solar capacity additions in Q2 contributing 30%, 22% and 21% respectively of total quarterly installations.
India’s cumulative installed solar capacity reached 87.2 GW as of June 2024 with utility-scale projects making up 87% and rooftop solar 13%. Solar comprises 19.5% of India’s installed power capacity and made up 44% of the Country’s total installed renewable energy capacity. The states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka led the country’s cumulative installed large-scale solar capacity at 29%, 15% and 14% respectively.
India has a large-scale solar project pipeline of 146 GW with another 104 GW of projects tendered and awaiting auction as of June 2024, but challenges arising from transmission infrastructure constraints particularly in Rajasthan remain, although hybrid and energy storage projects which utilize the same transmission lines may reduce these challenges, Sanjay said.
According to Mercom, 41.4 GW of tenders were announced in the first half of 2024, an increase of 51% from 27.5 GW year to year although in Q2, 10.7 GW of tenders were announced, down 22% from 13.6 GW year to year and 65% quarter to quarter at 30.7 GW. The drop in the volume of tenders announced in Q2 could be a result of the delay in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) releasing the bidding trajectory for the year, and concerns over tepid response and higher bids after the ALMM reimposition, Sanjay said.
A total of 31.8 GW of projects were auctioned in the first half of 2024, an increase of 321% year to year from 27.5 GW over the same period last year, although in Q2, 6.7 GW of solar projects were auctioned, consistent year to year but down 73% from 25.1 GW quarter to quarter, according to Mercom.
India has set a goal of achieving 500 GW of renewable installed capacity, including 270 GW of solar capacity by 2030, according to the MNRE. In recent years, India has been building up its local solar supply chain capability. The Country has more than 50 GW of total ALMM listed module capacity which meets the Bureau of Indian Standards and MNRE’s efficiency criteria.
Reporting by Serena Seng, sseng@opisnet.com
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