India’s cumulative solar installations have hit the 50 GW milestone as of February 2022, according to Mercom India Research. The country’s installations came from 43 GW of utility-scale solar and 7 GW of rooftop solar.

It is an important milestone for the country at the beginning of the year as it works its way to the 100 GW target set for the end of 2022. The country at present has a development pipeline of 53 GW.

India crossed the 40 GW mark in March 2021. The National Solar Mission’s original target was 20 GW by 2022 but was revised to 100 GW by 2022. In May 2019, India had marked the 30 GW milestone.

According to the recently released Q4 & Annual India Solar Market Update, India installed a record 10 GW of new solar capacity in 2021, a big jump of 210% year-over-year (YoY) compared to 3.2 GW installed in 2020.

The country added nearly 1.7 GW of new rooftop solar installations, an increase of 138% compared to 2020.

The 50 GW mark is an achievement for the country, which added 10 GW of new solar capacity additions last year despite challenges on various fronts, including the Covid-19 pandemic, disruptions in the global solar supply chain, and an increase in raw material prices. If not for policy uncertainties and market volatility, the installations could have been higher.

“India’s energy transformation has been impressive to watch. We have seen installation trends reverse from coal to solar since the National Solar Policy was announced in 2009. With a new goal of adding 450 GW of renewables by 2030, solar in India will continue to dominate new capacity additions for the foreseeable future,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

Solar accounted for 12.4% of the total installed power capacity and 32% of the total installed renewable capacity at the end of December 2021. Newly installed solar capacity in 2021 reached a record high, making up 62% of the total power capacity additions in 2021.

Despite these achievements, India will fall shy of installing the government set target of 100 GW by 2022.