Green Building Community
India’s solar capacity to double in 2017
Posted by: Kalyani.rc // Passive House / Sustainability Enthusiast
In 2017, India’s solar capacity is projected to double to 18 GW, with 14.2 GW of solar projects currently under development and tenders for approximately 6.3 GW are yet to be auctioned.
India’s solar capacity is set to double as large projects are commissioned, despite the short-term challenges of power limitation and weak tendering in certain states, according to sector expert and power producers.
As of December, India’s total solar capacity amounted to 9 GW. During 2017, the solar energy sector is expected to add another 9 GW of capacity – elevating India’s overall capacity to compete with other nations including China and Japan, says the cleantech consultancy, Mercom Capital Group Llc.
The renewable energy-focused consultancy, Bridge to India, expects that the country’s solar market will grow by 90 percent in 2017, as India adds a total of 8.8 GW of capacity – including 1.1 GW of rooftop solar installations.
The solar energy sector is beginning to see the effects of the ambitious target set by the government. Vinay Rustagi, Managing Director of Bridge to India, said: “The large capacity addition this year is purely a case of how timelines work for these projects. Because the government was formed in 2014 and they announced the new target in 2015 and the bulk of the large tenders started coming out toward the end of 2015. So these are the projects which will start getting implemented and commissioned in 2017".
However, there is still a long way to go as India has a target of setting up 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind energy capacity by 2022. The growing energy sector will require $250 billion in investments to reach this target.
For complete article, visit:
http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/news/indias_solar_capacity_to_double_in_2017
Rajesh Jhamb
Yes that's true...
India gets an average of 300 days of sunshine every year. While, historically the cost of installing solar power projects and rooftop solar has been prohibitive, solar power in India has received a new boost in recent years. With rising demands for rooftop solar, the costs have declined rapidly, making it feasible for more people and communities to switch to solar energy.
Allison Friedman // Rate It Green Admin
It's great to have confirmation of this trend, thanks. We see promising media reports, but we don't know what this means across the globe as much as when we hear from people more directly. The costs of solar are declining here in the US as well, and a tax credit has helped many homeowners decide to invest in solar, in addition to companies and also wider community-scale projects. Our outlook is positive, and we also doubled our solar capacity in 2016. http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data. One challenge is that our weather is not as consistent across our geography - you get a lot more sun than I do here in Massachusetts, for example. In addition, interest varies across states, and it's not clear if our current federal government will actively support the development of clean energy. This is a moment of uncertainty, to say the least.
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