India's Rooftop Solar Capacity Jumped 517% Over Last Year At 6.1 Gigawatt Total

India is speeding towards increasing its solar capacity, as evident in the second quarter of 2021. With 521 milliwatt of solar rooftop added in this time period, India has recorded a jump of 517 per cent over the same quarter in 2020.

With a cumulative installed rooftop capacity of 6.1 gigawatt, India just witnessed its most successful quarter in terms of rooftop solar absorption.

Unsplash

Gujarat, Maharashtra lead rooftop solar installations

According to a report by Mercom India, this happened even with a slight cost increase. 10 Indian states account for 83 per cent of all solar rooftop cumulative installations, Mercom report revealed.

Gujarat accounted for 55 per cent of total added rooftop solar energy capacity with 1.3 gigawatt, followed by Maharashtra at 700 milliwatt and Rajasthan at 450 milliwatt.

Top #rooftopsolar states in #India in Q2 2021 ¨C #Gujarat #Maharashtra #Haryana.#MercomIndiaReports #MercomIndiaSolar https://t.co/45mvAOqm0D pic.twitter.com/0AuplzombU

¡ª mercomindia (@MercomIndia) September 22, 2021

Western Indian states are leading the rooftop solar energy installations pack for now, whereas eastern Indian states, along with Jammu & Kashmir, still need to get serious about their commitment to solar energy.

Unsplash

Also read: World's Largest Coal Maker Will Produce Solar Panels In India, Shut Down Mines

Mercom Capital Group's CEO Raj Prabhu told PV-Tech that finalising the metering cap at 500 kilowatt has helped remove uncertainty for installers in India, paving the way for future. However, he added - "haphazard rooftop solar policies across states and a lack of support from distribution companies are holding back the sector.¡±

Solar intstallations getting more expensive in India

The report also revealed the skyrocketing cost of rooftop solar tech in India, with an average increase of 3 per cent to ?39.1 million/milliwatt in the first quarter of 2021 vs ?38 million/milliwatt in the first quarter of 2020.

Unsplash

Also read: Young Tamil Nadu Brothers Invent Solar-Powered Bicycle To Beat Fuel Price Hike

India is on its way to making a switch to solar and a joint venture by Coal India and NLC India is set to invest ?125 billion in solar power projects across the country.

Coal is being phased out systematically while solar is being prioritised, and hopefully this will not only add some much needed momentum into India's solar energy adoption curve but also reduce the price involved in rooftop solar energy installations around the country.

Do you think India is responding to solar power methods adequately? Let us know what you think in the comments below. For the latest in the world of science and technology, keep reading Indiatimes.com.