Residential PV

The Indian solar PV market saw 10.4 GW of new capacity added in the 2017-18 financial year, says Bridge to India, thus bringing cumulative installations to 24.4 GW as of this March. Leading the charge is the state of Karnataka. Concerns over the industry’s development remain, however.

Underlining India’s commitment to becoming the global renewable energy leader, Shri Anand Kumar, secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said the country plans 500 GW of capacity by 2030. He also underlined plans to become a solar and storage manufacturing hub; and said the International Solar Alliance needs to widen its membership.

There was incredulity in some quarters as the federal government raised its renewables ambition another 22%, but the stellar performance of the past four years points to the new target being a realizable one.

Global newly installed capacity for 2018 is forecast to reach 102.6 GW, of which “only” 39 GW are expected to come from China. Fourteen countries are expected to cross the GW threshold this year.

India saw the issuance of 13 new utility-scale solar PV tenders totaling 11,945 MW in the quarter ending March 31, 2018, which is 68% more than in the entire of 2017. However, tender capacity for rooftop solar PV (greater than 1 MW in size) was down 50%, at 102 MW.

Global solar PV demand this year will be less than in 2017, on the back of China’s latest policy decision, says TrendForce. Overall, it sees new installs dropping 40% in China to 31.6 GW. The protectionist measures taken by the U.S. will also be weakened by the resulting falling module prices.

According to Mercom India, the Indian solar PV industry has recorded its strongest quarter since the launch of the National Solar Mission. In addition to declining module prices, both rooftop and utility-scale installations saw strong growth. Clarity is needed, however, on the ongoing safeguard duty saga, to drive the industry forward.

The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) says the nation will exceed 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity as plans for bidding for 115 GW of renewable power projects to March 2020 were announced. The target for PV parks has been increased from 20 GW to 40 GW with some 41 parks in 21 states – with aggregate capacity of more than 26 GW – already sanctioned.

In the past financial year, India missed its rooftop solar PV targets, although it did exceed those for both grid-connected ground-mounted and off-grid systems, reports the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Bridge to India believes the government’s rooftop targets have been set at the wrong level and that around 10 GW will be installed by 2022, rather than 40 GW.