India’s installed utility-scale solar capacity breached the 50-GW mark in August 2022, 9.7 GW shy of meeting the government-set target of installing 60 GW by 2022, according to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker.

During the first half (1H) of the calendar year (CY) 2022, India installed approximately 7.2 GW of solar projects, a 59% year-over-year increase. India also has a robust pipeline of utility-scale projects under development of 57 GW as of June 2022, with another 37 GW of project tenders pending auction.

In 1H 2022, Avaada Energy was the largest utility-scale developer in terms of installations, according to India Solar Market Leaderboard 1H 2022. Avaada accounted for 15% of the total market share. It has one of the largest portfolios of solar power projects aggregating over 1 GW.

Avaada raised green bonds worth ₹14.4 billion (~$192 million) at 6.75% in the Indian capital market. It commissioned around 954 MW of utility-scale solar power projects in 1H. The company’s cumulative installed capacity as of June 2022 stood at 1.8 GW.

Tata Power Renewables was second on the list accounting for 10% of the total market share in 1H 2022. Blackrock Real Assets and Mubadala Investment Company agreed to invest $40 billion (~$595 million) in Tata Power Renewables to achieve a portfolio of over 20 GW of renewables by 2027. BlackRock and Mubadala will invest ₹40 billion (~$525 million) in equity or compulsorily convertible instruments for a 10.53% stake in Tata Power Renewables.

Azure Power, with 8% market share, was the third-largest utility-scale developer during the period. The company has over 7.5 GW of a pan-India portfolio, including operational and pipeline projects.

In June this year, Azure tied up with Premier Energies for supplying modules up to 600 MW until 2026. Earlier, the company had signed an expression of interest with the government of Karnataka for 1.7 GW of renewable energy projects, including wind, solar, and hybrid energy. Between January and March this year, the company commissioned SECI’s 600 MW and 300 MW interstate-connected solar power projects in Rajasthan.

NTPC Renewable Energy and Adani Green Energy rounded off the top five in the list.

In 1H 2022, the top ten developers accounted for 67% of the total utility-scale solar installations. The total utility-scale installations stood at 6.4 GW.

In terms of cumulative installed capacity, Adani Green Energy led the way with 5.8 GW of installations, followed by ReNew Power with 3.5 GW and Azure Power with 2.9 GW. The top three players accounted for 33% of cumulative installed capacity.

Adani Green Energy commissioned a 390 MW wind-solar hybrid project in Rajasthan. The company owns the largest pipeline, with over 12 GW solar projects and 8 GW of manufacturing-linked projects.

ReNew Power signed definitive agreements in June 2022 to acquire operational wind assets totaling 471.65 MW and solar assets of 56.25 MW. The assets are spread across eight states with a total enterprise value of around ₹30 billion (~$388 million). ReNew has also signed five power purchase agreements for about 2 GW with Solar Energy Corporation of India, Punjab State Power Corporation, and corporate buyers.

ReNew Power, Adani Green, and Azure Power were the top utility-scale solar project developers in 2021.