India’s total installed utility scale solar capacity grew by over 70% in 2017-18 to reach 21.3 GW. Total solar capacity including rooftop solar and off-grid systems reached 24.5 GW as of March 31, 2018.
- Total utility scale solar capacity in 2017-18 was 9.1 GW, up 72% over last year and more than all other sources combined (4.6 GW of thermal and 1.7 GW of wind power);
- Karnataka added 4.1 GW of new solar capacity in this period and surpassed Telangana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to become India’s top solar state;
- The year was notable for exponential growth in the open access market, where 1.7 GW of new capacity was added, up 275% over previous year;
Figure: Total utility scale solar capacity as of 31 March 2018
All figures are in MW
Source: BRIDGE TO INDIA research
Adani was the top project developer with 1,120 MW capacity commissioned, followed by Renew and Acme. NLC and Acme lead the pipeline capacity followed by Azure, ReNew and Softbank. Four players – Hero, Suzlon, Shapoorji Palloonji and Skypower feature in the top ten list of developers for the first time.
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Amongst module suppliers, Canadian Solar led the charts with 12.9% market share followed by JA Solar (11.4%) and Trina Solar (7.9%). Adani, at the number 8 spot, is the only Indian module supplier. China’s new policy to scale back solar is likely to further eat into the domestic manufacturers’ share. ABB continues to dominate the inverter market with 20% market share. However, it is closely followed by Huawei (17%), which has climbed up from 10th place last year. Sungrow and TMEIC follow with market shares of 14% and 11% respectively.
BRIDGE TO INDIA’s latest edition of India Solar Map 2018 contains other information on state-wise and policy-wise progress of the Indian solar market (download it here for free).
