Cumulative Solar Installations in India cross 8.6 GW

Cumulative solar installations in India have reached 8,643 MW as of September 2016. Mercom is forecasting solar installations to reach approximately 4.8 GW for calendar year 2016. So far installations in calendar year 2016 have reached 3.8 GW. Approximately 500 MW of solar has been installed in about a month since Mercom last reported installation figures for India. Four states have crossed the 1 GW solar installation mark. Out of the 8.6 GW installed so far, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have had significant activity and account for 59 per cent of total installations. India currently has 14 GW of solar projects in various stages of development and another 7 GW waiting to be auctioned. Solar installations are continuing to grow, even with a slowdown in power demand, a decline in capacity utilization among thermal projects, and the availability of cheap power on the power exchanges across the country. According to Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, “The challenge is going to come next year when approximately 9 GW of solar power is forecast to be installed. Unless the ‘must run’ status for solar projects is strictly enforced we are going to see some challenges.”