Domestic solar installations surge 167% to 16.4 GW in Jan-Sep: Mercom

India added 16.4 gigawatt (GW) of solar capacity during January-September 2024, posting a 167 per cent year-on-year rise on account of commissioning of delayed projects, Mercom Capital said.

The country had installed 6.2 GW of solar capacities in the nine-month period of 2023, the US-based research firm said in its latest report.

"In the nine months (9M) of January-September of the calendar year (CY) 2024, solar projects totaling 16.4 GW were added in India, an increase of over 167 per cent compared to 6.2 GW in 9M 2023. The commissioning of several previously delayed projects contributed to capacity additions in the first nine months of 2024," the report titled 'India Solar Market Update' said.

As per the report, the solar installations in the July-September period rose by 78 per cent to 3.5 GW from 2 GW in the third quarter of last year.

As of September 2024, India's cumulative installed solar capacity stood at 89.1 GW, of which utility-scale projects accounted for more than 86 per cent, and rooftop solar accounted for almost 14 per cent of cumulative installations.

Solar installations accounted for nearly 20 per cent of India's installed power capacity and over 44 per cent of the total installed renewable energy capacity.

Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Karnataka were the top three states for total installed large-scale solar capacity.

In 9M of 2024, 57.6 GW of tenders were announced, the highest ever during the nine-month period of any year, compared to 41.1 GW in 9M of 2023, a rise of 40 per cent.

In Q3 2024, 16.2 GW of tenders were announced, up more than 19 per cent over 13.6 GW in the same period of 2023.

Mercom Capital specialises in providing market intelligence on energy storage, smart grid technology and solar energy, in addition to offering advisory services on emerging markets and strategic decision-making.