India faces huge gap in meeting 100-gigawatt solar goal by year’s end

The Economic Times:

In 2015, the government of India had set the target of achieving 100 gigawatt (GW) of grid-connected solar installation by 2022. Now, with less than four months to the deadline of the solar target, India stares at an installation gap of ~39 GW, according to JMC Research.

The 100 GW target comprises of 40 GW for grid-connected rooftop and 60 GW for grid-connected utility-scale projects. Till August 31, 2022, the cumulative grid-connected solar power capacity of India stands at ~61 GW, the report said.

"The gap in terms of installed capacity for rooftop and utility-scale segments from their respective targets are 69% and 18% respectively, as of August 2022. The underwhelming progress of rooftop solar installation can be attributed to low consumer awareness and inadequate supply-side infrastructure," the report added.

In the first 8 months of  022, India added a total of 8 GW of grid-connected solar capacity. Further, as per JMK Research estimates, in the last 4 months of 2022, India is likely to add 7 GW of solar capacity. "Thus, it is expected that the nation would reach a total grid-connected solar installation of 68 GW by 2022."

[Staff Report]

More: With less than four month to go, India still 39GW away from its 2022 solar target: Report