Solar installations till June 2018 was at 5GW, says Mercom report

The solar installations in the first half of the calendar year 2018 was almost 5 GW and the country's total installed capacity has exceeded 25 GW, according to a report by consulting firm Mercom Capital India. 

The top 10 large-scale solar power infrastructure developers from over 300 project developers in the country accounted for 55 per cent market share in the first half of 2018, with all others making up the remaining 45 per cent of the market share.  

There are around 70 large-scale project developers with a pipeline of 5 MW or more in India. Sixteen per cent of solar installations in the first half of the year was in the rooftop solar sector, standing at 805 MW. Rooftop installations rose by 55 per cent year on year with cumulative installations of almost 2,410 MW as of June 2018.

However, the top 10 installers made up only 27 per cent of all rooftop projects installed, leaving all other rooftop developers with 73 per cent of the share, a reflection of the fragmented nature of the market.

Among the players, Adani Group remained the largest project developer in terms of total cumulative installations, as well as the top installer in terms of capacity installed through the end of the first half of 2018. ReNew Power had the largest project pipeline during the period, said the report.

Sterling and Wilson was the top EPC company cumulatively, while Tata Power Solar had the largest cumulative rooftop portfolio, and CleanMax emerged as the top rooftop installer during the period. ABB has remained at the top of the list in terms of solar inverter shipments to the country.

The top five module suppliers accounted for over 37 per cent of the market. Trina Solar was the leading module supplier to India in terms of cumulative shipments while ZnShine was the top supplier during the first half of the year.

There are over 50 suppliers of solar mounting structures active in the Indian market. There are over 30 suppliers of solar trackers active in the Indian market. Around 4 GW of trackers have been supplied for project development, it said.