According to research firm Mercom India, solar installations in India fell by 47% to 5.6 GW between January and September 2023, due to project delays. According to the research organization, solar capacity built in the July-September quarter this year was 1.9 GW, a 34% decrease from 2.8 GW in the same period last year. However, on a quarterly (QoQ) basis, installations climbed by about 6% compared to 1.8 GW in Q2 2023.
"During the first nine months of 2023, 5.6 GW of solar was installed in India. Solar capacity additions fell nearly 47 per cent compared to 10.5 GW installed in 9M 2022," Mercom India Solar Market Update report said. The utility-scale installations dropped more than 54 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to 4.2 GW.
"Barring significant negative developments, installations in 2024 should grow exponentially. Declining prices (of ped products) are now the cause of slower growth (compared to rising prices earlier) as developers and installers push procurement to the last minute. Hopefully, the market can handle the expected rush in Q1 2024 and thrive," Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group said. The extensions given to various large-scale solar and hybrid power projects, as well as those experiencing delays owing to land and transmission constraints, mostly impacted installations between January and September 2023.
The excess of modules in China has further depressed average selling prices of solar modules, which have declined for the fourth quarter in a row. With the shift in project timeframes, the difficulties in securing transmission connectivity grew even more. During Q3, project developers also lacked clarification on application procedures for long-term access to transmission networks under the new regulations.
However, near the conclusion of the quarter, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) published clarifications, which are likely to ease the procedure in the coming quarters. Several projects in the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) habitat are still waiting for a Supreme Court order to acquire transmission connectivity.
As of September 2023, India's cumulative installed solar capacity, including total rooftop solar systems, had topped 69 GW. As of September 2023, the country's utility-scale solar development pipeline was at almost 77 GW, with over 68 GW of projects tendered and awaiting auction at the end of Q3 2023.
Rajasthan remained the state with the most cumulative large-scale solar installations, with approximately 17 GW added at the end of Q3 2023, accounting for more than 28%. Karnataka and Gujarat came in second and third, with about 16% and 11%, respectively.