New solar power capacity could treble this fiscal, to top 3,000 MW

Going by the number of power purchase agreements signed by solar power developers, new solar power capacity that could be added from April to March next will be almost three times as much as the achievement in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

In the 2014-15 fiscal, 1,112 MW of grid connected solar power capacity were added in the country, compared with 948 MW in the previous fiscal.

Going by the number of power purchase agreements signed by solar power developers, solar installations in the current year will touch the 3,000-MW mark. Bridge to India, an India-centric solar consultancy, believes this is possible, given that only Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have signed up power purchase agreements with developers of 1,500 MW. Then there is the federal government’s National Solar Mission under which 700 MW could come up.

Further, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have signed up for 500 MW. Tamil Nadu has an open programme currently under way and so far, at least 200 MW have been awarded.

If solar installations cross the 3,000-MW-mark, it would probably overtake the annual wind power capacity addition for the first time. India saw 2,312 MW added in 2014-15. Wind industry experts also expect installations in the current year to touch 3,000 MW.

The world is projected to see record solar capacity additions of 57,000 MW this calendar year. Global consultancy IHS says that solar PV installations across the world in 2014 reached 44.2GW, less than the forecast 45.1 GW, nevertheless a 14 per cent increase over 2013.