Solar power generation in India continues to increase as more solar is added to the grid every day. According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, solar accounted for around 27.9 GW of the total installed capacity, representing 7.91 percent of the total installed capacity by the end of December 2018.

According to the data released by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), solar power generation in the fourth quarter (Q4) of CY 2018 increased by 48 percent year-over-year (YoY) to 9,672 million units (MUs) compared to Q4 2017 when approximately 6,523 MUs were generated by solar projects.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, solar power generation peaked with over 9.7 billion units (BUs) of electricity produced in India. Compared to the last quarter, solar power generation witnessed growth of 15 percent quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) from the 8.4 BUs generated in the Q3 2018. Year-over-year, solar generation increased by 48 percent compared to the same period of 2017.

The rise can be attributed to increase in the number of commissioned solar projects.

India’s solar power generated around 36.1 BUs of electricity in the CY 2018, a 68 percent up from the previous year. Mercom previously reported that in the CY 2017, total solar electricity generation in the country produced over 21.5 BUs, a huge increase of over 86 percent from the 11.6 BUs generated in the preceding year of 2016.

Although the progress logged in the domestic solar sector has has been impressive so far, solar still has a long way to go to become a leading source of energy generation in India. India’s solar sector could grow faster if several lingering issues, like the ongoing GST confusion, are addressed by government. Mercom India Research had forecasted solar installations of approximately 8 GW for calendar year (CY) 2018.

is a Research Associate at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Pratheeksha was an Associate Analyst at GlobalData where she authored and published syndicated research reports in the power generation industry. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Electrical & Electronics from PESITM and Master’s degree in Electrical Power Systems from the Adichunchanagiri Institute of Technology at VTU University.