Solar installation stood at 8.3 GW in 2018, Adani top project developer

India’s solar installations stood at 8.3 GW in 2018. The installations include large-scale and rooftop solar capacity. The country’s cumulative solar capacity is around 28 GW as of 2018. 

Much has changed in the Indian solar industry over the last year. There was some re-shuffling when it came to suppliers after the imposition of the safeguard duty while others have consolidated their positions, says Industry representative, said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

Mercom Communications India's report finds that the top 10 large-scale developers accounted for 60 per cent of the market share in 2018.

In terms of cumulative installations, Adani maintained its position as the top project developer, while ACME Solar was the developer with the most large-scale solar installations in 2018. Adani was the second largest developer in 2018.

Around 80 large-scale project developers with a pipeline of 5 MW or more in India. ACME Solar had the largest project pipeline at the end of 2018 closely followed by SB Energy (SoftBank) and Azure Power.

In 2018, the top 10 rooftop solar installers accounted for just 30 per cent of the installed capacity in India, reflecting the fragmented nature of the sector, said Mercom.

Rooftop installations grew  66 per cent year-over-year (YoY) with cumulative installations totaling nearly 3.3 GW at the end of 2018. Rooftop solar installations for 2018 amounted to 1.7 GW.

Among rooftop installers, Tata Power led cumulative installations while CleanMax Solar was the top rooftop installer in 2018.

ABB continues to lead solar inverter supply in the Indian market cumulatively and in 2018. Central inverters accounted for approximately 70% of total shipments, while string inverters accounted for 30% in 2018. Huawei was the top string inverter in India in 2018.

In 2018, the top five module suppliers accounted for over 30% of the market. ZnShine was the top supplier of solar modules in 2018. The imposition of the safeguard duty has helped domestic module manufacturers capture a larger share of the market compared to 2017.

There are over 60 suppliers of solar mounting structures active in the Indian market, with Pennar Industries leading the pack.

There are over 30 suppliers of solar trackers active in the Indian market. As of 2018, approximately 4 GW of trackers has been supplied in the market. Arctech Solar was the top supplier in 2018.

Solar installation in the last 5 yrs

2014- 985 MW

2015- 2,313 MW

2016- 4,313 MW

2017- 9,782 MW

2018- 8,263 MW

Inclusive of both utility-scale and rooftop solar

Source: Mercom