India’s installed solar capacity hits 41.6 GW

India’s cumulative installed solar capacity stood at 41.6 GW as of Dec. 31, 2020, with 1.29 GW added in the October-December period. Capacity additions in the first quarter of this year could surpass 2 GW.

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From pv magazine India

India added 1.29 GW of solar in the October-December period, with utility-scale PV accounting for 77% (998 MW), according to Bridge To India, noting that 23% (300 MW) of the total was rooftop capacity. 

The new additions brought the country’s total installed PV capacity to 41.6 GW as of Dec. 31. This included 34.2 GW of utility-scale PV, 6.4 GW of rooftop, and 1.08 GW of off-grid capacity. 

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Bridge To India noted that fourth-quarter utility-scale additions were marginally below its initial estimates. “Project commissioning was up 55% quarter-on-quarter, but the increase in execution costs slowed down progress,” it said.

A jump in module and inverter prices also drove up engineering, procurement and construction costs. But Bridge to India said it expects construction to pick up in the current year, leading to more than 2 GW of utility-scale solar additions in each of the first two quarters of 2021, according to its estimates. The rooftop solar market is also expected to expand, with 475 MW of anticipated capacity additions in the first quarter.

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