India’s solar, wind additions in H1 surpass total in 2023

In solar alone, over 12,000 MW was added from January to June.

India remains to be one of the leaders in renewable energy with over 13,000 megawatts (MW) of solar and wind energy capacity added in the first half (H1) of the year, overtaking the total additions in 2023, JMK Research & Analytics said.

According to its report, JMK said India added about 12,156 MW of solar capacity and 1,920 MW of wind capacity in H1, up 78.9% for solar and 2.3% for wind from the same period in 2023. 

“With these new additions, India’s total installed renewable energy (RE) capacity reached 195 GW [gigawatts] as of June 2024. Solar energy accounts for approximately 44% of the total installed RE capacity, making it the largest contributor,” JMK said.

In terms of utility-scale solar, India added about 9.6 GW, which is about 2.3 times higher compared to the installations in H1 last year. This was attributed to the Indian government’s exemption of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) until March 2024, the reduction in module prices, and the commissioning of long-pending tenders.

For rooftop solar, India added about 1.8 GW, down 19.6% from last year, whilst about 688 MW was added in the off-grid/distributed solar segment, which is about 2.3 times higher than the last year.

JMK also reported that about 1.9 GW was added in India’s wind energy in H1, slightly up from the 1.87 GW in the same period last year.

“In the second half of 2024, an additional 2.6 GW of wind capacity is expected to be added, whilst an additional 8-9 GW of solar capacity is also anticipated. The solar sector is on track to achieve the highest ever annual installations in India, with CY [calendar year] 2024 contributing significantly to this groundbreaking progress,” JMK said.