In Short : India’s solar energy growth is driven by key initiatives like the National Solar Mission, PM-KUSUM, and the Solar Parks Scheme. Rooftop solar programs and the Green Energy Corridor are also expanding renewable capacity. International collaborations, such as the International Solar Alliance, further promote solar adoption, accelerating India’s transition to clean energy and contributing to its sustainability goals.
In Detail : The solar power space is growing at a rapid pace, witnessing the highest capacity additions amongst all renewable energy as well as conventional sources. Already, 5 GW of total solar power capacity has been installed this year (April-July 2024), much more than wind, which has seen just 1 GW; small hydro and bioenergy (meagre amounts); and thermal or hydropower (nil).
This article gives an overview of important developments in the solar power space, covering progress, policies and projects.…
Utility-scale solar
India’s utility-scale solar space continues to grow at a rapid pace, supported by a transparent and competitive bidding mechanism, an expanding solar industry, willing offtakers and an enthusiastic and deep-pocketed developer base. The country’s cumulative solar power capacity has reached 87.21 GW as of July 2024, with ground-mounted solar forming the bulk of the capacity at 67.52 GW. There is a huge gap, in terms of capacity, between rooftop solar (just 13.4 GW) and ground-mounted solar.
Renewable Watch Research has tracked 16 solar power auctions between September 2023 and August 2024, with tariffs ranging from Rs 2.48 per kWh to Rs 2.68 per kWh. The lowest tariffs were discovered in SECI’s Tranche XVI 1,200 MW auction, conducted in August 2024. Sustainable and Affordable Energy for Life [SAEL] Industries Limited and NTPC Limited won 250 MW and 200 MW respectively by quoting a traiff of Rs 2.48 per kWh. BluPine Energy quoted a tariff of Rs 2.49 per kWh and won 50 MW. Of the total capacity, only 500 MW was auctioned. Meanwhile, in SJVN’s 1.2 GW auction in August 2024, ACME Solar and SAEL each won bids for 300 MW, Essar Renewables got 300 MW and OnWard Solar Power got 100 MW at Rs 2.52 per kWh. Meanwhile, NTPC REL secured 200 MW at Rs 2.53 per kWh.
Further, in Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited’s June 2024 auction to develop 500 MW of grid-connected solar power projects, Phase XXIV, KPI Green Energy won 120 MW by quoting the lowest tariff of Rs 2.67 per kWh. Avaada Energy won 200 MW and Solarcraft Power India 5 (BluPine Energy) won 40 MW by quoting Rs 2.68 per kWh and Rs 2.69 per kWh respectively. Hinduja Renewables Energy won 130 MW and NRC Industries won 10 MW by quoting a tariff of Rs 2.72 per kWh.
In terms of state-wise developments, Rajasthan leads with an impressive 22.86 GW of solar deployments, followed by Gujarat with 14.57 GW. However, other states are also boosting their solar installations through tenders, promotion of open access projects and setting up of solar parks. Recently, Uttar Pradesh announced that nine solar parks are being developed in the state with a total capacity of 3,710 MW. Three parks with a total capacity of 435 MW are already operational, while the remaining six are progressing through the bidding process, with land allocation completed.
Floating solar
Floating solar technology first came to India almost a decade back, and has emerged as a promising market opportunity in the country’s renewable energy sector. Despite the absence of any specific policy, the floating solar segment continues to grow by leaps and bounds owing to increasing land acquisition issues and the availability of large reservoirs and lakes to install these projects.
A study by The Energy and Resources Institute highlighted Maharashtra’s potential to generate 57.9 GW of floating solar power, followed by Karnataka with 33.4 GW and Madhya Pradesh with 31 GW. Overall, India has a floating solar potential of 280 GW, achievable by utilising between 3 and 30 per cent of the surface area of man-made reservoirs. This potential is supported by industry interest, low gestation timelines and attractive cost economics. By installing solar panels on water bodies, this technology not only maximises land use but also enhances efficiency through the cooling effect of water.
The floating solar space has witnessed a flurry of activity in the past few months, with a slew of tenders. In March 2024, Bihar issued a tender for a 10 MW floating solar project, while the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation issued a tender for a 100 MW floating solar project in Raigarh district, Maharashtra. In the same month, the Solar Energy Corporation of India awarded Larsen & Toubro 100 MW of capacity at the Getalsud dam in Ranchi. In May 2024, Madhav Infra Projects Limited was awarded a contract by NTPC-SAIL Power Company Limited to develop a 15 MW floating solar PV project at Maroda Reservoir-I in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh. In the same month, NHPC and Ocean Sun signed an MoU to explore floating solar energy technologies in India.
One of India’s largest floating solar power projects, a 600 MW facility over the Omkareshwar dam, commissioned 90 MW of capacity in August 2024. This capacity was set up by SJVN, as part of the project’s first phase of 278 MW. This includes 88 MW to be set up by NHDC and 100 MW by AMP Energy. With these advancements, India’s floating solar sector is poised to play a significant role in the country’s renewable energy future, capitalising on the vast potential of its water bodies to generate clean energy.
Distributed solar
Distributed solar enables local production and consumption of energy, allowing many households and other electricity consumers to become part-time producers, able to sell excess energy back to the grid or to other users. Various policies have been introduced by the government to promote these systems, including solar lighting, solar pumps, rooftop solar and biogas projects.
In recent months, residential rooftop solar has been getting much-needed attention owing to the huge untapped potential in this space. The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana was launched in February 2024 to enhance solar rooftop capacity across households and support the adoption of decentralised energy production. It has a budget allocation of Rs 750 billion, with plans to install rooftop solar in 10 million households by 2026-27. As of July 2024, 13,396 MW of capacity has been installed in India under the scheme.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Power has amended the electricity consumer rules, and solar rooftop PV systems with up to 10 kW of capacity have been exempted from the requirement of a technical feasibility study, while the timeline for completing the feasibility study has been reduced from 20 days to 15 days for systems with more than 10 kW of capacity.
The MNRE also released the guidelines for the Model Solar Village component of the Surya Ghar scheme in August 2024, aiming to create one such village in every district of the country. The total budget allocated for this component is Rs 8,000 million, with a central financial assistance of Rs 10 million per village.
India is advancing the deployment of solar pumps through the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme, which was launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in March 2019. The PM-KUSUM scheme focuses on three key components: 10,000 MW of solar capacity through the installation of small solar power plants of up to 2 MW capacity (Component A), the installation of 2 million standalone solar-powered pumps (Component B) and the solarisation of 1.5 million grid-connected pumps. The scheme aims to add 34,800 MW of solar capacity, supported by a total central financial allocation of Rs 344.22 billion.
The initial deadline for the scheme was 2022. However, the PM-KUSUM programme has faced challenges related to low uptake, and thereby the deadline has been extended till March 2026.
As a matter of fact, as of July 2024, only 256 MW of power plants have been installed against a sanctioned capacity of 8,112 MW under Component A according to the MNRE. Further, 446,141 standalone solar pumps have been deployed out of 1,355,473 sanctioned under component B. Under Component C, 161,640 individual solar-powered pumps have been sanctioned, with 4,644 installations completed; while 3,383,966 pumps have been sanctioned at the feeder level, with 10,918 solarised.
On the positive side, there have been notable instances of increasing awareness and uptake. For instance, in February 2024, the Karnataka government allocated Rs 11.74 billion in its 2024 budget to install 40,000 off-grid solar pump sets under Component B of the PM-KUSUM scheme. Further, in March 2024, MSEB Solar Agro Power’s 7 GW solar auction under Component C of the programme resulted in the award of 7,783 MW of capacity. In the same month, Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency granted contracts for the provision, installation and commissioning of 24,484 solar water pumping systems as part of Component B. Another auction in May 2024 by Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited led to the award of 479 MW of solar projects under Component C. New tenders were announced under Component C for 768.4 MW by Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited and 564 MW by Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited in March 2024, as well as a massive 3,205 MW by Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency. Such large auctions will help in improving the uptake of solar capacity across the country.
