BRIDGE TO INDIA has released the latest edition of its India Solar Rooftop Map report. As per the report, India added new rooftop solar capacity of 1,142 MW in the financial year 2017-18, up 68% over previous year. Total installed capacity is estimated to have reached 2,538 MW as on 31 March, 2018..
- OPEX market share is rising strongly, driven by increasing customer preference and investor appetite;
- Maharashtra has overtaken Tamil Nadu to emerge as the biggest solar rooftop state with an 18% annual market share;
- The government needs to adopt bold policies to realise full potential of this market;
The industry growth is highly encouraging as it came despite some significant challenges including module price increase, safeguard duty threat and uncertainty caused by GST imposition. C&I consumers were again the biggest market segment accounting for 64% of total capacity addition (70% in FY 2016-17). Residential segment – 17% of total capacity addition – has grown by 65% to reach total capacity of 503 MW. Public sector consumers account for the remaining 19% share. Within states, Maharashtra remains the leading state with total installed capacity of 309 MW, followed by Tamil Nadu (253 MW), Karnataka (182 MW), Gujarat (170 MW) and Rajasthan (167 MW).
There was a significant increase in OPEX model share to 34%, up from 20% last year. The model, now highly standardised and well understood, is being increasingly preferred by C&I consumers because of its win-win proposition – attractive financial savings with no operating or technical risk. Many players have raised significant amount of capital also leading to a churn in the developer rankings – Cleantech Solar is the new OPEX market leader with an annual share of 16%; it is followed by Cleanmax Solar (13%) and ReNew (10%).
EPC market is getting more fragmented with top ten player market share of only 18% (21% last year) as small regional players compete strongly on price – top three players are Tata Power (6%), Fourth Partner (3%) and Sunsure (2%). In the inverter market, Delta is still the leading player although its market share has fallen to 28% (36% last year). Chinese suppliers including Growatt, K-Star, Solis and Huawei have grown their presence substantially to achieve a combined share of 23%.
It is heartening to see the rooftop solar market growing briskly despite strong odds and policy disappointments. Ongoing fall in module prices and more investment appetite should continue to drive growth in the next few years. If the government can effectively implement some of the proposed policy ideas, the market would finally start realising its potential.
