India has recorded a 26 percent year-on-year growth in rooftop solar capacity addition, reaching 1.1 gigawatts (GW) in the first half of 2024, according to a report by Mercom India. This marks a significant increase from the 873 megawatts (MW) installed during the same period last year, making it the highest half-yearly rooftop solar installation to date.
The growth has been largely driven by residential rooftop solar projects under the ‘PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana,’ which saw a notable uptick in installations. In the second quarter of 2024 alone, rooftop solar capacity additions surged by 89 percent year-on-year to 731 MW, compared to 388 MW in the same quarter last year. Sequentially, this represented a 99 percent increase from the 367 MW installed in the previous quarter.
Priyadarshini Sanjay, Managing Director of Mercom India, highlighted the significant contribution of the residential sector, which saw its capacity soar nearly tenfold from the previous quarter, a notable shift from the historical dominance of the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector. Rooftop solar accounted for almost 15 percent of total solar installations in the quarter.
The leading states for rooftop solar capacity additions were Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, which together contributed over 81 percent of the total installations during the quarter. As of June 2024, India’s cumulative installed rooftop solar capacity stood at 11.6 GW, with the top 10 states accounting for over 78 percent of this total.
India’s total solar power capacity addition surged by 282 percent in the first half of 2024, reaching nearly 15 GW — the highest ever for a half-year period. India added 5 GW of solar capacity in the second quarter of 2024, following a substantial 9.9 GW increase in the first quarter. As of June 2024, India’s installed solar capacity stood at 87.2 GW, making up 19.5 percent of the country’s total energy mix.
India has a pipeline of large-scale solar projects totaling 146 GW and an additional 104 GW of projects tendered and awaiting auction. The country has set a target of adding 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, with solar energy expected to play a crucial role in achieving this goal.