India: Solar accounted for over 50% of new power capacity
Staff Writer |
The Indian solar market installed 8,263 MW in CY 2018, down 15.5 percent compared to 9,782 MW in CY 2017 as the safeguard duty, GST issues, and land and transmission issues took a toll on the large-scale installations, according to Mercom India Research’s Q4 and Annual 2018 India Solar Market Update.
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Rooftop solar meanwhile had an impressive year growing by 66 percent year-over-year (YoY).
Total power capacity additions in India were 16.3 GW in 2018 from all generation sources. Of this, renewable energy sources accounted for nearly 70 percent of installations, with solar representing 50.7 percent of new capacity and wind with 14 percent. Coal accounted for 27.5 percent of new capacity added.
In Q4 2018, solar installations came to 1,638 MW, up three percent quarter-over-quarter from the 1,589 MW installed during Q3 2018, but ~52 percent lower YoY compared to the 2,491 MW installed in Q4 2017.
According to the report, rooftop installations in 2018 totaled 1,655 MW, a 66 percent growth year-over-year.
Cumulative rooftop solar installations have reached 3,260 MW. In terms of annual growth, rooftop solar continues to be a bright spot, as commercial and industrial entities see rooftop solar as a viable way to combat higher power tariffs.
Following a significant increase of 50 percent quarter-over-quarter growth from Q4 2017 to Q1 2018, installation growth remained steady for the rest of the year.
Financing rooftop installations could be challenging in 2019 as Indian banks are facing a liquidity crunch with many banks hitting the exposure limits to the power sector.
The report found that solar parks continue to face issues in providing clearly demarcated-ready land for project development, causing undue delays and putting additional pressure on large-scale projects.
The market is adjusting to the safeguard duty regime, but much will depend on Chinese solar policy and installation goals going forward. Any increase in installation targets in China will tighten supplies and harden module prices while oversupply and module price declines could result if China decides to pull back on its solar installation targets. ■