Regional Balance In Solar Installations And Capacity Building New Focus Areas

A number of solar projects have been hanging fire for more reasons than one. And now they are getting commissioned, which in turn, is reflected in the solar capacity addition figures. In the first nine months of the calendar year 2024, solar projects totalling 16.4 GW were added in India, an increase of over 167 per cent compared to 6.2 GW in 9M 2023. In fact, solar installations topped all prior nine months and annual installations. When comparing YoY, large-scale solar capacity additions rose almost 77 per cent from the 1.6 GW installed in Q3 2023. Solar open access projects accounted for nearly 39 per cent of large-scale solar installations in Q3 of this year. All these augur well as they are clear indications that India is on track for its best year in solar. While divulging these positive and encouraging figures, Mercom India Research sounded a word of caution also. In fact, if sector analysts are to be believed, significant challenges threaten to slow the pace of progress. Grid connectivity issues, land availability, and supply constraints are already impacting momentum. Without urgent improvements in transmission infrastructure and land access, solar growth risks falling short of targets; the tender trajectory alone will not be sufficient to meet 2030 goals.

It's clear that current priorities need urgent strategic realignment. Significantly, in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, 3.5 GW of solar capacity was commissioned. Installations dropped almost 28 per cent quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) compared to 4.9 GW in Q2 2024. Capacity additions rose by more than 78 per cent year-over-year (YoY) compared to 2 GW in Q3 2023. In Q3 2024, 2.8 GW of large-scale solar capacity was installed, representing a 34 per cent decline in QoQ compared to the 4.2 GW. Installations declined in Q3 due to delays in grid connectivity, challenges with land acquisition, disruptions caused by monsoon conditions on construction activities, and a shortage of modules meeting domestic content requirement (DCR) standards. In 9M 2024, India added 22.4 GW of new power capacity. Renewable sources, including large hydro, accounted for almost 83 per cent, while solar alone accounted for over 73 per cent of new capacity additions.

As of September 2024, India's cumulative installed solar capacity stood at 89.1 GW.

Utility-scale projects accounted for more than 86 per cent, and rooftop solar accounted for almost 14 per cent of cumulative installations. Solar accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the installed power capacity and over 44 per cent of the total installed renewable energy capacity. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka were the top three states for total installed large-scale solar capacity. Over 27 per cent of the country's large-scale solar capacity is installed in Rajasthan, 15 per cent in Gujarat and 14 per cent in Karnataka. As of September this year, almost 94 per cent of cumulative large-scale solar installations were in the top 10 states. A 360 degree look at the country’s solar sector would therefore suggest that a regional balance in solar installations, commissioning and capacity addition is also a need of the hour.