In just a single month, solar PV added almost as much capacity as in all of 2023, when India added 7.5 GW of new solar capacity.
Solar PV added almost all renewable capacity in March 2024, which increased to 7.1 GW, double the previous record for new renewable capacity set in March 2022 at 3.5 GW.
Year-on-year solar growth increased by 23%, mainly driven by the commissioning of many projects on the Indian Interstate Transmission System grid and ultra-mega solar park projects. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the states that contributed the most to the expansion of solar energy in March 2024.
Among the largest projects reaching commercial operations is Indian renewable energy company Adani Green’s 1 GW Khavda solar PV park in Gujarat. Construction of that project was completed in less than a year, as the company aims to build 30 GW of renewable energy capacity in Khavda over the next five years.
Despite that new capacity record for both solar PV and renewables in general, the country is still far from its goal of 500 GW of renewable capacity by 2032 and would require adding 30 GW of renewables per year. Currently, India is not even half that number, having installed less than 13 GW of solar and wind capacity in 2023 (as shown in the chart below), according to recent figures from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy ( MNRE) of India.
“With India’s general elections beginning earlier this month, the country’s emphasis on renewable energy is no surprise. Despite ambitious climate targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, achieving them is only possible if the country maintains the fervor seen in recent months, said Rohit Pradeep Patel, vice president of energy and renewables research at Rystad Energy.
“However, critical challenges remain: ensuring grid stability along with the increased integration costs that come with introducing more renewable capacity. “A strategic solution lies in balancing this adoption of clean energy with targeted exports, enabling India’s growth visions for the energy sector, without compromising national climate goals.”
64 GW nominal annual module capacity
Regarding India’s manufacturing capacity, Rystad added that nominal annual module capacity reached 64 GW in March 2024, and companies are looking to export their excess capacity to other markets. Among these markets is the United States, due to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), according to Rystad Energy.
These latest figures would almost double the nominal capacity of modules in India since March 2023, when it reached 38 GW. India’s rapid growth in module capacity has been boosted by the launch of the production-linked incentive scheme in 2020 to reduce its dependence on the export of modules and other solar components from China.
Another application of the domestic manufacturing push in India was the implementation of a basic customs duty (BCD) in April 2022 – which imposed a 40% tax on imported solar modules and a 25% tax on solar cells – which reduced the import of foreign products. , mainly Chinese, modules.
More recently, the Indian government re-established the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), which also served as a means to boost domestic manufacturing capacity.
