India's rooftop solar capacity at 525 MW; TN leads the way: Report

NEW DELHI, November 18: India's rooftop solar capacity has seen a 66 percent growth over the last year to 525 MW, with Tamil Nadu outperforming other states, says a report by consultancy firm Bridge to India. According to India Solar Rooftop Map, over the past 12 months India's installed solar capacity is almost equivalent to what the country had added in the past three years combined. It said that India rooftop solar industry has witnessed a 66 percent growth over the last year despite lack of specific rooftop initiatives, which are enjoyed by the utility scale solar segment. This growth is directly linked to improved project economics and is expected to continue accumulating up to 6.5 GW of installed rooftop solar capacity until 2020, it said. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat are leading in the total installed capacity, with Tamil Nadu outperforming other states. The map also highlights that India is fast approaching nationwide grid parity for all rooftop segments, particularly the commercial and industrial segments. Six new states have achieved grid parity for commercial consumers bringing total number of grid parity states to 19. Similarly, six others have also achieved grid parity in the industrial segment increasing the total number of grid parity states to 17. While none of the states have achieved grid parity for residential segment, the gap between solar and grid tariffs has reduced substantially, it said. "This capacity addition comes at a time when the government has gradually started withdrawing the capital subsidies and the market grew mostly on its own fundamentals. Going forward, we expect tremendous growth opportunities in the rooftop solar market in India in next few years", Vinay Rustagi, MD, Bridge to India, said on the launch.