Rooftop solar capacity increased 6.35% to 485 MW in Jan-Mar: Mercom

The rooftop solar capacity in India increased by 6.35 per cent to 485 megawatt (MW) in the January-March quarter of this year, according to Mercom India.

In the January-March period of calendar year 2022, the rooftop solar installation capacity in the country was at 456 MW, the research firm said on Friday.

India's cumulative rooftop solar capacity was approximately 9.3 gigawatts (GW) at the end of Q1 2023.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, at 485 MW, rooftop solar capacity addition was marginally up by 0.4 per cent compared to 483 MW in Q4 2022, Mercom India said.

According to its 'Q1 2023 Mercom India Rooftop Solar Market Report', nearly 58 per cent of capacity was added by residential consumers in Q1 2023, while industrial and commercial consumers accounted for 28 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.

In Q1 2023, rooftop solar accounted for 26 per cent of total solar installations.

"After ups and downs in 2022, we are beginning to see steady growth in rooftop solar driven by solid fundamentals.

"System costs are beginning to trend downwards while electricity rates are rising, making solar economics attractive for consumers, which should lead to an accelerated growth trajectory in the coming quarters," Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group said.

The installations were primarily driven by the commissioning of delayed projects that applied for approvals before October 2022, he said.

Gujarat, Kerala, and Karnataka added the most rooftop solar capacity in Q1 2023, contributing to almost 70 per cent of rooftop capacity additions.

Gujarat remained the leading state for rooftop solar, accounting for 24 per cent of cumulative installations as of March 2023, followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

The top 10 states accounted for 75 per cent of cumulative rooftop solar installations as of March 2023.