India adds record 15 GW of solar power in H1 2024: Mercom

India added nearly 15 GW of solar power in the first half of 2024, up 282% on the year and topping all previous half-yearly installations, according to a report by Mercom India Research Aug. 22.

In the second quarter of the calendar year, the country commissioned 5 GW of solar capacity while in the first quarter, as much as 9.9 GW was added, the report said.

"Project delays due to grid connectivity and transmission infrastructure issues significantly affected quarterly additions for large-scale solar projects," the report said.

"The reimposition of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers [ALMM] order further impacted viability and commissioning of several open access projects, contributing to substantial delays during the quarter."

In February, the government had announced the implementation of ALMM regulation but was put on hold before it was implemented on April 1. The regulation mandates the procurement of solar modules from manufacturers featured in the list and is one of the measures taken by India to reduce imports from China.

As of June 2024, the country's installed solar capacity stood at 87.2 GW and accounted for 19.5% of the total energy mix, the report said.

India's large-scale solar project pipeline stood at 146 GW, with projects totaling another 104 GW tendered and pending auctions as of June, it said.

In the April-June quarter, tenders worth 10.7 GW were announced, a 21.6% decrease from 13.6 GW in the same period last year and down 73.2% from January-March, the report said.

Meanwhile, average large-scale project costs fell 2% quarter on quarter and about 26% year on year, the report said. Solar panel costs have been on a downtrend in recent years and this is expected to continue in the near term.

The western Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and Karnataka in the south led the quarterly large-scale solar capacity additions, the report said, adding the top 10 states accounted for 94% of total installations.

India has set itself a huge target of adding 500 GW of renewable capacities by 2030, with solar alone expected to play a significant role, and to achieve that target the country needs to hasten its installations in a cost-effective manner, analysts have previously noted.

In H1, India added 20.8 GW of new power capacity, with renewable sources, including large hydro projects, accounting for 81%, driven mainly by solar, the report said.