India misses its modest solar target by almost 40 percent

The Indian government’s proclaimed 2015 target of 100 gigawatts (GW) of grid-connected solar power capacity installed nationwide by 2022, which is not particularly ambitious given the country’s population and total energy consumption, is being missed by a wide margin. Market research firm JMK Research estimates 61 GW of capacity installed by the end of August, leaving 39 GW short for the remaining four months.
The cumulative installed solar power capacity in 2015 was 3.7 GW. The 100 GW target announced at that time is made up of 40 GW for rooftop installations and 60 GW for utility-scale projects. The gap in installed capacity that now remains in these two segments is 69 and 18 percent, respectively. JMK cites »low consumer awareness and inadequate supply-side infrastructure« as the main reasons for the particularly glaring target shortfall for rooftop installations.
However, the pace of additions picked up considerably in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, a total of 11 GW was added. Even this level, had it been achieved in every year since 2015, would nonetheless not have been sufficient to meet the 100 GW target. In contrast, eight GW were added in the first eight months of 2022, with a further seven GW to follow by the end of the year, according to JMK estimates. With such a pace already in earlier years, the target would have been reached. Instead, the country is now expected to have only 68 GW of grid-connected solar power capacity by the end of 2022.
© PHOTON