Residential PV

Gujarat’s total installed solar capacity has crossed the 2.6 GW mark, according to the latest data released by the Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA).

The cost of solar power generation in India has fallen to half the level seen in many other markets in the region due to extensive solar resource, market scale and competition.

RK Singh told the upper house of the Indian parliament yesterday the nation had added 780 MW of new generation capacity in the last two years. The share of renewables in India’s power mix is rising too, but not fast enough to ensure electricity supply for all.

Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were the top five states by annual installation, accounting for 60% of the new capacity.

The annual report has placed EVs at the heart of India’s decarbonization and called for an Indian answer to the U.S. ‘Motor City’ of Detroit, where electric vehicles and the batteries to run them could be manufactured.

Long regarded as a solar pioneer, the state has now announced grand plans to shoulder the burden of 17% of the nation’s clean energy ambition as India races to install 175 GW of clean energy capacity in just three-and-a-half years.

The state is hoping for 10.7 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2022 and rooftop solar is set to play a big role.

The country has so far achieved around 80 GW of installed renewable energy capacity in chasing “175 GW by 2022” target. De-dieselisation of farms and railways ranks high on the Modi government’s priority list to push solar adoption.

The power minister’s proposal would be a step in the right direction towards meeting the 40 GW rooftop solar target, as it removes a financing hurdle for small and medium enterprises.

Solar trees—like the ones at The National Salt Satyagraha Memorial in Gujarat—are set to make their way into the residential complexes of central government employees as the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) looks to harness solar energy to the maximum extent possible.