Solar Installations Record: Renewable Energy Progressively Taking Over This Power Grid

With its highest quarterly installation to date—10 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024—India has reached a milestone in adding alternative energy sources to its global power grid.

“There is a substantial pipeline of large-scale projects scheduled for 2024, positioning India for a record-breaking year by a significant margin. Assuming stability in policy and supply chains, and if government agencies continue to auction projects and meet the set targets, India is poised to be among the top three solar markets globally”, explains Raj Prabhu, CEO at Mercom India Research.

In Q1 of 2024, 9.7 GW of large-scale solar capacity was installed, including 1.8 GW from open-access solar projects. According to the recent Q1 2024 India Solar Market Update from Mercom Capital Group, it represents close to a 400% year-over-year increase from the first quarter of 2023. As for the quarter-over-quarter capacity, additions represent a 414% surge from 2 GW in Q4 of 2023. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, 15.2 GW of new power capacity was added, with solar accounting for 66% of these additions. India’s cumulative installed solar capacity reached 82 GW in March 2024, with solar energy representing 18.5% of the country’s total installed power capacity and 43% of the total installed renewable energy capacity.