India boosts solar capacity with 7.2 GW of new installations in H1

The Indian solar industry commissioned 7.2 GW of photovoltaic (PV) parks in the first half of 2022, setting a record year-on-year increase and bringing the country’s cumulative installed capacity to 57 GW.

The new additions in January-June were 59% higher than in the year-ago period when 4.5 GW of new installations came online, the latest report of Mercom India Research shows.

“Even with mounting challenges from supply chain constraints and rising costs, India had its best quarter and first half ever for solar,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

In the second quarter alone, the country put on stream 3.9 GW of fresh solar PV capacity, up 18% sequentially and 62.5% on a yearly basis. The bulk of the new capacity came from the utility-scale sector, which accounted for 90% of the total new capacity with 3.5 GW of commissioned plants, while the rest was brought by the rooftop segment.

By state contribution, Rajasthan was the leader in terms of newly-commissioned plants and was responsible for 53% of the fresh PV capacity in the second quarter. The share of Gujarat and Maharashtra were 14% and 9%, respectively.

At the end of June, India had a utility-scale project development pipeline totalling 57 GW.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!