With solar power boom continuing in India, Adani Group and Tata Power emerge as top players in the market with the former having the most projects under development stage and the latter leading in total installed capacity as also in rooftop installations.
Since its entry into the solar market two years ago, Adani Group, an infrastructure and power conglomerate, has the largest overall solar project pipeline in India now with about 2 GW, according to a report by Mercom Capital Group, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm.
The Adani Group, with about 11 per cent market share, has the most projects under development in India followed by ReNew Power, a wind and solar company backed by Goldman Sachs with about 10 per cent market share, SunEdison (8.5 per cent), ACME (8 per cent), Azure (5 per cent) and Tata Power (3.8 per cent). Suzlon and Hero Future Energies have 3.7 per cent of the large-scale solar market each. The top 20 developers account for about 80 per cent of projects under development.
Rooftop solar market in India is still small and is struggling to take off. The total capacity achieved so far is 601 MW. “Current incentives have not been enough to move the market forward. Even though there is net-metering policy and policy proposals in many States, implementation has been spotty. It takes six to eight months in some States just to process paperwork. There are currently no subsidies available for commercial and industrial customers, who make up almost 70 per cent of the rooftop market,” said the report.
Tata Power leads the rooftop solar market in India with about 19 per cent share, followed by Madhav Group (14 per cent), Azure Power (11 per cent) and CleanMax (eight per cent).
Clarity on GST Like other industries, solar industry is also waiting for clarity on the implications of GST, which was deemed negative for the sector, according to a recent MNRE (Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) report. However, the details are not yet determined and it is still unclear whether renewable energy will be exempt.
A 15 per cent increase in costs as a result of the GST (estimated by the report) will affect solar projects and their financial viability. More clarity is expected over the next three months.
Evacuation delays The report has also highlighted that the evacuation delays continue to be a hurdle for the sector.
As it delays commissioning, the issue has to be addressed immediately with deemed generation benefits. Though grid congestion is a challenge during summer months, low power demand, especially from lucrative industrial and commercial segments, is negatively affecting DISCOMs and their revenues. “This has a potential to become a major problem going forward, if power demand does not pick up and solar installations increase rapidly,” it added.