India’s solar module manufacturing capacity has witnessed a staggering tenfold growth, soaring from 2.4 GW per annum in 2014 to an impressive 25 GW per annum in 2023.

Additionally, the country has installed an indigenous solar cell manufacturing capacity of 6 GW/annum over the past nine years, underlining its commitment to domestic innovation, said the Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy R. K. Singh.

The country has continued its push to ensure the domestic solar manufacturing sector is well established to cut the import dependency.

According to Mercom India Research’s report, ‘State of Solar PV Manufacturing in India,’ the domestic module manufacturing capacity was just over 39 GW at the end of September 2022 and is expected to be close to 95 GW by the end of 2025.

In other developments in the sector, the ministry said India also surpassed its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target by achieving 40% of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources in 2021, a feat accomplished nine years ahead of schedule.

From 2014 through 2023, India added a substantial 64.3 GW solar capacity, a 23-fold increase from the capacity installed by March 31, 2014.

Solar tariff reduced significantly, from over ₹6 (~$0.07) per unit in 2014 to less than ₹2 (~$0.02) per unit in 2020-21.

Approximately 9 million solar lighting systems were distributed from 2014 to 2023, an increase of 3.8 times compared to systems distributed by March 31, 2014.

Over the last nine years, India provided 530,000 solar pumps to farmers, another 45-fold increase from pumps installed by March 31, 2014, aiding agricultural productivity.

Wind turbine manufacturing capacity increased by 1.5 times, from 10 GW/annum in 2014 to 15 GW/annum in 2023.

The share of renewable energy (excluding large hydro) in India’s electricity mix more than doubled, increasing from 6.4% in 2013-14 to 12.5% in 2022-23.

Further, FDI in India’s renewable energy sector surged 3.7 times, attracting $11.1 billion in the last nine years compared to $3.0 billion by March 31, 2014.

The ministry also noted that IREDA’s loan disbursement for renewable energy projects escalated by about six times, from ₹143.2 billion (~$1.7 billion) by March 31, 2014, to ₹827.77 billion (~$9.9 billion) during the past nine years.

Power Sector Progress

India added 190.2 GW of electricity generation capacity since 2014 in an attempt to transform the nation from a power deficit to a power surplus.

The current installed electricity generation capacity of 421.9 GW is nearly double the peak demand, enabling power exports to neighboring countries.

The country witnessed the addition of 182,801 circuit kilometers of transmission lines since 2014, connecting the entire nation into one integrated grid operating on a single frequency.

The Ministry also said India’s transmission lines deploy advanced technologies like 800 KV HVDC and span challenging terrains, reflecting the nation’s commitment to innovation. Additionally, India achieved electrification of every village within 987 days, surpassing the 1000-day target announced by the Prime Minister on August 15, 2015.

About 30 billion solar energy units were generated in the second quarter of the calendar year 2023, a 20.8% YoY increase. Solar generation increased 5.5% quarter-over-quarter. Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Gujarat were the top solar energy-generating states.

During Q1, the solar installations in India fell 48% YoY, as stated in the Q1 2023 India Solar Market Quarterly Update by Mercom India Research. Installations dropped by 30% quarterly.