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1.1 GW of new solar capacity in India in 2013

With 4.4 GW of new solar projects expected to be announced in India in 2013, only around 1.1 GW will be online by the end of the year, according to consultants Bridge to India.

India is expected to add 1.1 GW of new solar capacity in 2013.

Flickr/fredericknoronha

In the January edition of its India Solar Compass quarterly, Bridge to India is predicting the announcement of 1.6 GW of new solar capacity under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (NSM) along with an additional 2.8 GW of projects under five state solar programs.

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are predicted to lead the way with the announcement of 1 GW of new solar installations each, with Punjab supplying 500 MW, Uttar Pradesh 200 MW and Rajasthan 100 MW.

But Bridge to India says of those announcements, it expects only 350 MW to come to fruition in the calendar year – 200 MW in Andhra Pradesh, which allows 12 months for commissioned projects to come online and 150 MW in Tamil Nadu, which permits a delay of only 10 months.

The consultancy predicts that the remaining announcements will be developed in 2014.

Bridge to India further expects 290 MW to come online from the NSM before the end-of-March deadline for projects in the first phase of the second batch of developments, with another 30 MW anticipated under the national scheme this year.

In addition to the new capacity additions in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the consultancy is forecasting 100 MW of new capacity in Madhya Pradesh and 40 MW from Karnataka in 2013, with around 200 MW of capacity to be added by power distribution companies to fulfill renewable power purchase obligations.

In addition to the NSM projects anticipated for the first three months of 2013, Bridge to India forecasts another 10 MW to be added in line with Renewable Energy Certificate obligations, compared to just 2.5 MW in the final three months of 2012.