New Delhi: Solar capacity in India increased by 6.35 percent to 485 megawatt (MW) in the January-March quarter of this year, according to Mercom India. In the January-March period of calendar year 2022, the rooftop solar installation capacity in the country was at 456 MW, the research firm said on Friday. India's cumulative rooftop solar capacity was approximately 9.3 gigawatts (GW) at the end of Q1 2023.

Rooftop solar capacity addition was marginally up by 0.4%

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, at 485 MW, rooftop solar capacity addition was marginally up by 0.4 percent compared to 483 MW in Q4 2022, Mercom India said. According to its Q1 2023 Mercom India Rooftop Solar Market Report', nearly 58 percent of capacity was added by residential consumers in Q1 2023, while industrial and commercial consumers accounted for 28 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

Rooftop solar accounted for 26% of total solar installations

In Q1 2023, rooftop solar accounted for 26 percent of total solar installations. "After ups and downs in 2022, we are beginning to see steady growth in rooftop solar driven by solid fundamentals. "System costs are beginning to trend downwards while electricity rates are rising, making solar economics attractive for consumers, which should lead to an accelerated growth trajectory in the coming quarters," Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group said.

Installations were primarily driven by the commissioning of delayed projects

The installations were primarily driven by the commissioning of delayed projects that applied for approvals before October 2022, he said. Gujarat, Kerala, and Karnataka added the most rooftop solar capacity in Q1 2023, contributing to almost 70 percent of rooftop capacity additions.
Gujarat remained the leading state for rooftop solar, accounting for 24 percent of cumulative installations as of March 2023, followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The top 10 states accounted for 75 percent of cumulative rooftop solar installations as of March 2023.

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