India includes 10GW of solar PV in 2021, brings total installed capacity to 49GW

• India added more than 10GW of solar PV in 2021 as the country hit a cumulative set up solar capacity of 49GW by the end of the year, according to research company Mercom India Research's latest update on India's solar market.

The 10GW of capacity enhancements made in 2021 stood for a 210% rise on the year before. While a part of this could be explained by the COVID-19 pandemic causing a drop in installations, India's deployment numbers had actually been dropping year-on-year since 2017.

Provided this, the boost will be welcomed from the country's solar industry, although upcoming policy changes will trigger issue for India's downstream sector.

The numbers reported by Mercom are slightly less than release numbers launched by research company JMK Research in December that mentioned 11.1 GW of solar capacity was included from January to November as well as additionally can be found in lower than the 13.5 GW predicted by scientists Bridge to India (BOI).

Of the 10GW Mercom said was included 2021, concerning 8.5 GW was utility-scale solar, with the nation's large-scale project pipeline currently standing at 53GW

While India had a target of releasing 100GW of solar PV by 2022, BOI expects 65GW to be mounted by the end of this year. As of Q4 2021, about 27.7 GW of solar projects hurt as well as are pending auction, Mercom said.

Solar PV represented 62% of new power capacity additions, stated the report, and accounted for about 12.4% of India's overall installed power capacity by the end of last year.

In Q4 2021, Rajasthan was the state with the highest possible advancing utility-scale solar setups. It and also three other Indian states-- Gujarat, Maharashtra as well as Uttar Pradesh-- make up more than two-thirds of all solar deployment in the country.

According to information from the nation's Ministry of New as well as Renewable Energy (MNRE), solar currently comprises approximately 47% of total renewable energy manufacturing, making it the largest factor complied with by wind (38%), bio power (10%) and also small hydro (5%).

However a BOI evaluation conducted in December 2021 revealed that implementation in the country was faltering as high module rates impact project building.

This situation is likely to be worsened in the temporary as the nation introduces a Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on solar cells and modules from April this year.