India added 10 GW solar power capacity in 2021 registering 212% YoY growth: Report
The report titled ‘Annual 2021 India Solar Market Update,’ noted that the cumulative solar installed capacity in India was approx. 49 GW at the end of December 2021.
According to Mercom India Research, India installed 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity during calendar year 2021, up 212 per cent from the previous year. According to the report, the country had installed 3.2 GW of solar capacity during the previous calendar year 2020.
A report titled ‘Annual 2021 India Solar Market Update’ stated that cumulative solar installed capacity in India stood at 49 GW at the end of December 2021. Solar with capacity addition of 10 GW accounted for 62 percent of new power capacity additions in 2021, the highest share ever.
In the year that ended in Dec 2021, large-scale solar installations accounted for 83 percent of total solar installations, and they surged by 230 per cent year-over-year (y-o-y). While rooftop installations increased by 138 percent year-over-year in 2021, the report noted further.
Among the top three states with the highest large-scale solar capacity, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh accounted for 50 per cent of the installations in the country as of December 2021. Rajasthan was the largest contributor by adding 4.5 GW of solar capacity in 2021, the report noted.
Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, said that the demand forecast for 2022 is strong, but substantial challenges are ahead: basic customs duties, import restrictions, and the new goods and services tax; along with global supply chain issues, as well as high component prices.
Compared to 2020, solar tenders and auctions declined 4.3 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, in 2021. The report attributed some of this decline to the delay in signing power-sale agreements (PSA) and the lack of clarity regarding applicable duties. Furthermore, due to increases in module, raw material, and freight charges, the average project cost also increased in 2021, the report pointed out.
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