Solar installations in India are set to double this year and as well as next year also, says the Central Government. 

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India today has installed solar capacity of 4,262 MW, of which 518 MW were built in the current financial year. MNRE expects 4,345 MW of fresh capacity to come up in 2015-16 (including the 518 MW achieved so far.)

Further, going by the bids on the anvil, the government expects to add 10,859 MW in 2016-17 alone.

The numbers add up to close to 19,000 MW by March 2017 compared with the previous target of 20,000 MW by 2022.

The MNRE put out its estimates soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed its progress across the country on September 30.

(The Prime Minister interacts directly with the Secretaries of Government of India and the Chief Secretaries of various States over video on the last Wednesday of each month, under the PRAGATI initiative. Solar was high on the agenda of September 30 discussion.)

 

Tamil Nadu on top

 

The numbers put Tamil Nadu on the top of the list for 2015-17. The State is expected to see fresh solar power additions of 1,214 MW, closely followed by Telangana with 1,166 MW, Madhya Pradesh (432 MW) and Andhra Pradesh (350 MW). The leaders of today have little to show—Rajasthan has 50 MW against its name, while Gujarat is not there in the list at all.

While some in the industry – none of them was willing to be named – were doubtful of the numbers, the figures seem to be in agreement with the projections made by the Citigroup in its recent report, titled Energy Darwinism II. The report projected India to have solar installations of 26,523 MW by 2020.

 

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