Solar installations up 50% in Jan-March

New Delhi, May 25: Over 3 gigawatt (GW) of solar energy capacity was installed in India in January-March 2022, Mercom India said on Wednesday. The installation was 50 per cent higher than the 2 GW added in the same period of 2021, the research firm said in a report.

"India added over 3 GW of solar capacity in Q1 (January-March) 2022, a 21 per cent rise compared to 2.6 GW in Q4 2021. On a year-on-year basis, installations rose by 50 per cent compared to the 2 GW added in Q1 2021," the report titled 'Q1 2022 India Solar Market Update by Mercom India Research' said.

During Q1 2022, 2.7 GW of large-scale solar was installed, registering a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase of 23 per cent and a 53 per cent rise on a year-on-year basis.

Large-scale solar accounted for 85 per cent of the installations, and rooftop accounted for the remaining 15 per cent during the reporting period.

India's cumulative installed solar capacity now stands at 52 GW.

The country has a utility-scale projects development pipeline of over 54

GW. Another 33 GW of projects tendered are awaiting auction.

"...A little push from the government can help India surpass the 60 GW large-scale solar installation target set for 2022, which will be a great achievement," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

Rajasthan became the first state to cross 10 GW of cumulative large-scale solar PV installations, with over 10 GW installed as of March 2022, and accounts for 24 per cent of the total installations in the country.

In Q1 2022, Rajasthan and Gujarat were the top states for solar, accounting for 52 per cent and 18 per cent of installations, respectively, followed by Karnataka (6 per cent).

The report further said that tender activity for solar projects in Q1 2022 declined by about 18 per cent QoQ from nearly 6 GW in Q4 2021.

"With BCD (basic customs duty) applicable from April 1, 2022, on solar cells (25 per cent) and modules (40 per cent), the January-March quarter saw a significant increase in imports of the components," it said.