Energy consultancy firm Bridge to India in its latest study reports that cumulative installed capacity of solar power in India has crossed the 5 GW mark.
In the sectorial breakup, 4.7 GW is achieved by ground based projects while rooftop capacity stands at 525 MW.
The firm reports that in the present year, close to 2 GW solar capacity has been commissioned.
“Solar sector has got great momentum with capacity addition in 2015 more than doubling up over last year and total pipeline of over 15 GW of projects under bidding-cum-development,” says Vinay Rustagi, Managing Director, Bridge to India.
He said: “While the central government has laid down the ambitious target of 100 GW by 2022, states have taken the lead over central government schemes in the last year. Encouraged by falling costs and growing need for green energy, states like Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have all announced substantial policy initiatives.”
According to the consultancy firm, Rajasthan, Gujarat and MP have historically been the front runners, but the four southern Indian states are expected to dominate the market over next 2 years.
“As of today, the country has a solar project pipeline of 15.7 GW. FY2016-17 will be Indian solar market’s transition year: annual capacity addition could top 6 GW with India becoming one of the leading solar nations worldwide,” reports BTI in a statement.
In the rooftop sector, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat are leading in the total installed capacity. In 2015, about 240 MW of rooftop capacity was added despite lack of any major rooftop specific initiatives.
“Consumer awareness has improved significantly and both business and residential consumers are keen to tap into rooftop solar. We expect the market to grow at over 50 per cent rate in the next few years,” says Rustagi.
BW Reporters
The author is Senior Correspondent with BW Businessworld
_20240428142749original_image_31.webp)
