India added 8.8 GW of solar in first nine months of 2021

From pv magazine India

India added approximately 8,811 MW of new solar capacity in the first nine months of 2021, about 280% more than in the same period a year earlier. Newly deployed wind capacity was 101% higher at 1,246 MW, according to JMK Research.

The analysts attribute the significant growth to the commissioning of the projects that were stretched beyond their due date because of the Covid-19 disruption.

India’s overall installed renewable energy capacity has reached 101.53 GW as of September 30, 2021. Solar energy, with a 46% share, is the biggest contributor to this capacity, followed by wind energy (39%), biomass (10%) and small hydro (5%).

JMK Research expects India to install approximately 11 GW of new utility scale solar capacity and around 3 GW of rooftop PV if the third wave of the covid-19 pandemic does not strike the country between November and December 2021.

The state of Rajasthan led new utility-scale solar installations during the period with state-level addition close to 2.5 GW.

In the rooftop solar segment, about 2,068 MW of new capacity was added in the nine months period, which is 134% more than in the same period of the previous year.

“The ‘Surya Urja Rooftop Yojana – Gujarat’ scheme is the key reason for this significant capacity addition in Gujarat that aims installation of solar rooftops for 8 lakh residential consumers by March 2022,” stated JMK report. “Under this scheme, 40% of state subsidy is provided on installation of systems up to 3 kW and 20% subsidy for 3 kW- 10 kW system size.”