India’s RE installation got a big boost in H1 as COVID-19 pandemic eased, says report

• This is about 280 percent and 101 percent, respectively, higher compared to the same period previous year, said a report by JMK Research
• India's RE installation capacity reached 101.53 GW

New Delhi: From January till September (H1 FY21), India's renewable energy (RE) installation saw a substantial rise as approximately 8,811 MW solar power capacity and 1,246 MW of wind power capacity was added, said a report released by JMK Research on Tuesday. This is about 280 percent and 101 percent, respectively, higher compared to the same period previous year. The key reason for the significant increase is the commissioning of delayed projects in this period that were had been stuck because of the disruption caused by COVID-19.

In terms of cumulative installations, according to the data released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), till September, India's RE installation capacity reached 101.53 GW. Solar energy contributes for approximately 46 percent share in the total RE segment, making it the major contributor followed by wind energy (39 percent), bio power (10 percent) and small hydro (5 percent).

Gujarat leads in putting RE installations in place

Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra added maximum solar capacity in this period, accounting for 68.53 percent of all the solar installations. In the wind segment, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka contributed about 98.66 percent of India's total wind installations.

In the rooftop solar segment, about 2,068 MW of new capacity was added during January to September, which is 134 percent higher than the 883 MW capacity added during January to September 2020. Gujarat leads the chart with a capacity addition of 531 MW, accounting for nearly 26 percent of the total rooftop installations during the analysis period. Next to Gujarat, Maharashtra (501 MW), Haryana (217 MW) and Uttarakhand (181 MW) are the leading states with the most installed rooftop solar capacity. "The "Surya Urja Rooftop Yojana – Gujarat" scheme is the key reason for this significant capacity addition in Gujarat that aims installation of solar rooftops for 8 lakh residential consumers by March 2022. Under this scheme, 40 percent of state subsidy is provided on installation of systems up to 3 kW and 20 percent subsidy for 3 kW- 10 kW system size," said the report.

11 GW of new utility scale solar capacity to be installed in 2021

According to JMK Research, in 2021, approximately 11 GW of new utility scale solar capacity and 2.8 GW of new wind capacity is expected to be installed in the country. Whereas rooftop solar capacity addition is expected around 3 GW. If the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic does not strike the country between November and December this year, then it is extremely likely that the RE sector will achieve this target of 2021, said the report.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)