According to Mercom India’s Q1 2024 Solar Open Access Market Report, India added 1.8 GW of solar open access capacity in Q1 2024, with Rajasthan leading with almost 28% of the quarter’s installations.

Rajasthan’s capacity additions were up 154.1% quarter-over-quarter, making it one of the top five states for solar open access. The state’s cumulative installed solar open access capacity rose 65.9% between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024. In Q1 2024, about 13.7% of the large-scale solar installations in the state were in the open access model.

Open access solar installations in Rajasthan accounted for 8.8% of India’s cumulative capacity.

Enabling Environment

Rajasthan’s impressive solar open access growth can be attributed to abundant solar radiation, land availability, and stable energy banking regulations.

In Q1 2024, a significant number of solar open access projects with signed PPAs and advanced development stages received DISCOM approvals.

The exemption from facilitation charges for captive and group captive projects under the state’s renewable energy policy has increased the attractiveness of these models for C&I consumers despite the regulatory challenges from state DISCOMs.

Rajasthan had the second-largest solar open access project pipeline as of March 2024.

In Rajasthan, a power purchase agreement between the developers and consumers above 12 years but not more than 25 years is defined as long-term. Agreements tenures of one month and below are considered short-term.

Savings for C&I Segment

Rajasthan’s industrial consumers can save up to ₹2.87/kWh ($0.034/kWh) via intrastate captive and group captive projects, while commercial consumers can save up to ₹4.42/kWh ($0.053/kWh). Industrial consumers can save up to nearly 39% of the tariffs levied by DISCOMs, and commercial consumers can save up to almost 50%.

Energy-intensive consumers in sectors like textile, food processing, metal, dairy, defense, cement, healthcare, and chemical industries can benefit from procuring solar via open access route to lower their electricity expenses.

India’s energy landscape is rapidly evolving, with solar power emerging as a crucial component of the country’s renewable energy mix. Among the various options, solar open access has shown the most promise.

Mercom India’s Q1 2024 Solar Open Access Market Report provides an in-depth analysis of the state-wise open access market and data on electricity tariffs and open access charges.