India could add 2.5 GW of big solar in second half

Some 1 GW of utility scale project capacity was added to the end of June.

As of June 30, India had 35 GW of solar generation capacity.

Image: Adam Jones/Flickr

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India is expected to add 2.2-2.5 GW of utility scale solar generation capacity in the second half of this year, following the 1 GW installed to the end of June, according to Haryana-based analysts JMK Research and Analytics.

The analyst predicts 1-1.2 GW of rooftop solar will be added this year and expects a rebound to 7.7 GW of total new solar capacity next year.

JMK reported only 304 MW of solar was added in India in the April-to-June quarter, some 58% less than in the first three months of the year.

The analyst said Tamil Nadu led the way in the last quarter, with 128 MW of new capacity, followed by Gujarat, with 65 MW.

Companies

A report published by the analyst stated conglomerates Aditya Birla and Adani were responsible for commissioning the largest volumes of PV capacity in the last three-month window, with Chinese inverter manufacturers Sungrow and Huawei shipping the most central and string products, respectively.

Ahmedabad-based Adani shipped the most modules in the second quarter of 2020 – around 160 MW – with Jinko the leading Chinese supplier. Some 23% of the modules shipped in India during the period were mono PERC products, according to JMK.

April-to-June brought a rebound in the volume of modules shipped after a Covid-19-hit opening three months to the year, with last quarter seeing the amount of module imports rise almost fivefold as exports doubled.

The base price of imported Chinese panels – before general sales tax and safeguarding duty – fell 21% compared to the same period of last year, to around $0.18-0.185/Wp (Rs13.47-13.84).

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