Indian rooftop solar capacity surges 82% in 2017 to 1.9 GW
India had installed a total 1,861 GW in rooftop solar power capacity by September, according to market analyst Bridge to India, with 2017 additions rising 82% YoY to 840 MW. Commercial and industrial buyers accounted for 63% after expanding 66% in the year to September, while the residential market grew 45%, the India Solar Rooftop Map report stated. The public sector fell short of expectations, adding 173 MW of solar power compared with Bridge to India's forecast of 200 MW. Installations are expected to grow an annual 77% over the next four years.
As of September 2017, India's total PV rooftop capacity stood at 1,861 MW, according to Bridge to India. The analyst company has estimated that India will install 10.8 GW rooftop by 2021.

Indian solar market analyst Bridge to India has released the latest edition of its infographic report, ‘India Solar Rooftop Map’. As per the report, India added new rooftop solar capacity of 840 MW in the last 12 months ending September 2017, at y-o-y growth of 82%. The company has estimated growth with Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 77% for the next four years. As things stand, the total installed capacity as of September 2017 stood at 1,861 MW.

The rooftop PV report has highlighted that commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers remain the biggest consumer segment, accounting for 63% of total capacity and 66% of new capacity added in the last 12 months. Capacity additions in this segment grew 86% in the last 12 months.

The residential market, in contrast, grew at a more sedate pace of 45%. However, the major disappointment comes from the low uptake in the public sector, which added just 173 MW in the last 12 months against Bridge to India’s estimate of 200 MW.

Speaking at the launch of the infograph, Vinay Rustagi, MD of Bridge to India, said: “Rooftop solar has been growing robustly. Debt and equity financing is also flowing more freely now, but it is still abundantly clear that the 40 GW target for March 2022 is highly unrealistic. The government would be particularly disappointed by the slow pace of capacity additions in the public-sector segment despite providing a strong mandate and 25% capital subsidy. Net metering progress also remains patchy at best.”

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According to Bridge to India research, OPEX market share has increased to 30% (10% increase from last year). Among the power developers, CleanMax (Mumbai-headquartered, 15.8%), Cleantech Solar (Singapore-based, 15%) and Amplus Solar (Gurugram-based, 9.5%) are the clear leaders in OPEX project development category.

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Delta (Taiwan-headquartered) and SMA (Germany-headquartered) have maintained their dominance in the inverter market covering 50% of the share, followed by KACO (Germany), which covers 6.5% market. One of India’s biggest solar companies, Tata Power Solar remains the biggest EPC contractor in rooftop solar with 6.2% market coverage.

According to the report, Maharashtra, the western state of India, has overtaken Tamil Nadu state in the south to become the largest solar rooftop state in India. As of September 2017, Maharashtra has installed 237 MW compared to 191 MW in Tamil Nadu. The two states are followed by Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Gujarat, which have rooftop PV capacities of 129 MW, 125MW and 103 MW installation respectively.

Bridge to India’s revised estimate for expected capacity additions in 2017 is 887 MW, 28% lower than its previous estimation. Following the slower growth, the research and consultancy firm has revised downwards its projections for the next five years, with total estimated capacity additions of 10.8 GW by 2021 (down 18% over consultancy’s previous estimate, that is, 13.2 GW) expected. The estimation is 73% short of India's 40 GW rooftop PV target.