- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, accounted for 60 percent of the market.
- Globally India stands fourth in wind power, fifth in solar power and fifth in overall renewable power installed capacity.
- The target is to achieve an installed capacity of renewable based power of 175 GW by the year 2022.
As India moves towards its ambitious renewable energy target, rooftop solar power is gaining an increasing share of the solar market.
According to a report by consultant Bridge To India, the country’s overall installed rooftop solar capacity stood at 4,375 MW at the end of FY19, with 1,836 MW having been added in fiscal year 2018-19, which is 72 per cent higher compare to FY18.
Of the total fresh capacity addition, commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftops accounted for 3,066 MW, residential 690 MW and public sector installations 619 MW.
With a capacity of 2,140 MW, the industrial segment contributed the most to the solar rooftop power portfolio.
The report showed that the average solar rooftop system size has increased due to greater adoption by C&I (commercial and industrial) customers, with 29 per cent of the installations identified to be more than 1 MW in size.
India is targeting a huge renewable energy capacity of 175 gigawatts (GW) by 2022 for transitioning to a low-carbon pathway. Of this, 100 GW is earmarked for solar capacity, with 40 GW (or 40 per cent) expected to be achieved through decentralised and rooftop-scale solar projects.
Leading states and top players
In terms of annual installation, Maharashtra (618 Mw), Rajasthan (393 Mw), Tamil Nadu (365 Mw), Gujarat (314 Mw) and Karnataka (298 Mw) were the top five states in FY19, accounting for 60 percent of the new capacity.
The solar rooftop market is split between inverter suppliers and engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) contractors, each with a size of 1,836 MW. Project developers make up the remaining 688 MW.
China’s Delta was the largest rooftop inverter supplier, claiming 19 percent of the market, followed by Solis (11 percent) and Swiss company ABB (10 percent).
Cleantech Solar – with a 13 percent market share – was the leading solar rooftop developer, followed by Fourth Partner (12.8 percent) and CleanMax (9.4 percent).
India’s present renewable power capacity and future plan
Today, globally India stands fourth in wind power, fifth in solar power and fifth in overall renewable power installed capacity.
As per the Economic Survey tabled in the Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the cumulative renewable power installed capacity (excluding hydro above 25 MW) has more than doubled from 35 GW in 2014 to 78 GW in 2019.
The target is to achieve an installed capacity of renewable based power of 175 GW by the year 2022.
The Survey estimates that additional investments in renewable plants up to the year 2022 would be about US$ 80 billion and an investment of around US$ 250 billion would be required for the period 2023-2030.
In its report, US-based think-tank Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis (IEEFA) indicated that rooftop solar has been the fastest growing renewable energy sub-sector in India, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 116 per cent between 2012 and 2018.
It estimates that for the next three years, rooftop solar installations will grow at a CAGR of 50 per cent, suggesting a cumulative 13 GW of installed capacity by FY2021-22.
