India’s total installed capacity is estimated to have reached 19.5 GW as on December 2017, says the latest edition of BRIDGE TO INDIA’s ‘India Solar Compass’ report

 

  • Total capacity addition in 2017 was 9,255 MW, up 94% over 2016;
  • Q4 was slow in terms of project commissioning with only 1,503 MW of utility scale projects being commissioned;
  • Execution costs have shot up by about 18% in just six months;
  • ReNew commissioned the largest capacity in Q4 2017 (300 MW), followed by Adani (250) and Tata Power (180)

New Delhi, March 06, 2018: BRIDGE TO INDIA has released their latest edition of “India Solar Compass” – a quarterly update on the Indian solar market. As per the report, Q4 was a slow quarter in terms of project commissioning, the sector witnessed only 1,503 MW of utility scale projects being commissioned.

The report highlights that India’s total installed capacity reached 19,516 MW as on December 31, 2017. This includes utility scale solar capacity of 17,415 MW (89%) and rooftop solar capacity of 2,101 MW (11%). Yet again, the four southern states along with Rajasthan continued to lead the total installed capacity with a jump of up to 94% over 2016.

Speaking on launch of the report, Mr. Vinay Rustagi, Managing Director, BRIDGE TO INDIA, said, The solar sector has been under pressure for some time due to a variety of factors – weak demand, increases in module prices, GST and threat of safeguard and/or anti-dumping duties. The impending decision on safeguard duty remains the overriding concern. But hopefully, the pick-up in tender issuance pick up should provide some relief to developers and the overall supply chain.

As in Q3 2017, ReNew commissioned the largest capacity in Q4 2017 (300 MW), followed by Adani (250) and Tata Power (180). ReNew also emerged as the largest developer by commissioned capacity (826 MW) for the whole of 2017, followed by Greenko (710) and NTPC (510). In module supply, the top three suppliers—Canadian Solar, First Solar and JA Solar—had more than 50% market share for projects commissioned in Q4 2017.

 

As per the report, new tenders totaling 2,650 MW were issued in the quarter, up 50% over Q3 2017. Maharashtra (1,365 MW) and Karnataka (1,060) were the two main states to issue new tenders in the quarter. Rooftop solar also saw an encouraging growth of more than 100% in new tenders, aggregating to more than 220 MW.

About BRIDGE TO INDIA:

BRIDGE TO INDIA is a leading consulting and knowledge services provider in the Indian cleantech market. Our multi-functional experience expertise combined with comprehensive in-house research capability enable us to develop insightful and highly sought-after industry analysis. Our overarching goal is to provide customised cleantech solutions and enable innovative business models in India.

We work actively with all leading stakeholders including project developers and investors, energy customers, equipment suppliers, regulators, policy makers and development institutions. We have also helped a number of international top-tier cleantech companies in growing their business footprint in India by providing them with strategic advice, business planning, risk assessment and JV partner selection services.

About India Solar Compass:

India Solar Compass is a comprehensive quarterly update on the Indian solar market. This edition provides detailed updates on tender and project status, leading players, financing deal flow, policy and market trends for Q2 2017 as well as our market forecasts for the upcoming quarters.