India added 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of rooftop solar in CY 2021, the highest ever recorded in a calendar year. Installations were up 138% compared to the CY 2020, according to Mercom India Research’s newly released “Mercom India Rooftop Solar Market Report Q4 and Annual 2021 .”

India added 402 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar in the fourth quarter (Q4) of CY 2021, a 10% drop quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) compared to 448 MW installed in Q3 2021. However, rooftop solar installations in Q4 2021 were up 41% year-over-year (YoY). In Q4 2021, rooftop solar accounted for 15% of total solar installations in the country.

According to the report, at the end of Q4 2021, cumulative rooftop solar installations reached over 7 GW.

“The rooftop solar market in India had its best year, largely due to the pent-up demand from 2020, which experienced a severe decline due to COVID-19. Certainty around net metering regulation helped along with demand from consumers across all segments – residential, commercial, and Industrial. Increase in component costs will dent demand in 2022, but we still expect positive growth this year,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

Gujarat is the leading state for cumulative rooftop solar installations with 27%, followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan, which added 14% and 10%, respectively. The top 10 states accounted for approximately 83% of cumulative rooftop solar installations in Q4 2021 and 85% of total installations in CY 2021.

Key Highlights from Mercom India Research’s India Rooftop Solar Market Report Q4 and Annual 2021

• In CY 2021, India added over 1.7 GW of rooftop solar capacity, the highest in any calendar year to date
• Cumulative rooftop solar installations are over 7 GW as of Q4 2021
• The top 10 states accounted for nearly 85% of total rooftop solar installations in CY 2021
• In Q4 2021, 44% of rooftop installations came from the commercial segment, followed by 41%, 10%, and 5% in industrial, residential, and government segments
• In Q4 2021, about 68% of solar rooftop installations were under the CAPEX model, while additions under the OPEX/RESCO model contributed to the remaining 32%
• Gujarat was the top state for total solar rooftop installations to date, followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan ranking second and third, respectively
• YoY, rooftop solar system costs have increased by 14.75%

Contact Mercom for pricing: reports@mercomindia.com or call us at +91-080-41211148