In Short : India’s rooftop solar installations surpassed 1 GW in the first half of 2024, driven by a surge in residential adoption. This growth reflects increasing awareness of renewable energy benefits among homeowners, alongside supportive government policies and incentives. The trend highlights India’s commitment to expanding its clean energy footprint and reducing reliance on traditional power sources.
In Detail : India has added 1.1 gigawatts (GW) of rooftop solar capacity in the first half (H1) of calendar year (CY) 2024.
India has added 1.1 gigawatts (GW) of rooftop solar capacity in the first half (H1) of calendar year (CY) 2024, according to Mercom India’s newly released Q2 2024 India Rooftop Solar Market Report. This is the highest H1 installation to date. Installations rose 26 per cent YoY compared to the 873 MW installed in H1 2023, it added.
In the second quarter of 2024, 731 MW of rooftop solar systems were installed, which is the highest amount of new quarterly capacity and an increase of almost 89 per cent YoY compared to 388 MW in Q2 2023. Installations were up more than 99 per cent QoQ compared to 367 MW in Q1 2024.
Per the report, the growth in installations during the first half and Q1 of 2024 was largely driven by increased residential rooftop solar capacity under the PM—SURYA GHAR: MUFT BIJLI YOJANA (PM—Surya Ghar). Furthermore, residential solar installations surged by almost 923 per cent QoQ, up 72 per cent of the projects commissioned during the quarter. The industrial segment accounted for over 23 per cent of the quarterly installations. Commercial and government segments accounted for 4 per cent and 0.7 per cent of capacity additions, respectively.
“The rooftop solar sector in India is finally taking off, largely due to the Prime Minister’s rooftop solar initiative, which has sparked unprecedented consumer interest. After overcoming initial setbacks, we can anticipate consistently higher installation rates in the residential segment moving forward. Nevertheless, the success of the program could be hindered by domestic module availability, component shortages, and escalating costs if these issues are not resolved,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO, Mercom Capital Group.
In terms of states, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu led rooftop solar capacity additions in Q2 2024 and these top five states accounted for over 81 per cent of installations in Q2. As of June 2024, India had a cumulative installed rooftop solar capacity of 11.6 GW.
The top 10 states contributed over 78 per cent of cumulative rooftop solar installations as of June 2024. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Karnataka remained at the forefront in terms of cumulative installed rooftop solar capacity during the quarter. Kerala registered the highest compounded quarterly growth rate of nearly 9 per cent between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024.
According to the report, in Q2 2024, rooftop solar tenders amounting to 533.6 MW were issued, down nearly 35 per cent from 816.9 MW in Q1 2024 and a 259 per cent jump compared to 148.6 MW in Q2 2023. Empanelment tenders to install rooftop solar on government buildings accounted for over 38 per cent of the quarter’s announcements, it added.
After six consecutive quarters of decline, largely due to the growing use of modules that meet domestic content requirements, the report stated that the average cost of rooftop solar systems increased by more than 12 per cent quarter-over-quarter. Despite this, the average cost remained nearly 10 per cent lower year-over-year (YoY).
