India is now part of a handful of countries with 10 GW or more of operational solar power capacity. The announcement of this milestone came from a research firm — Bridge to India — which states that utility-scale solar power capacity has crossed 9 GW while rooftop solar capacity has crossed 1 GW.
The report also mentions that India would soon become the third-largest solar power market in the world, after China and the United States, with a huge jump expected in the annual capacity addition from next year onward.
India is expected to add 8-10 GW of solar power capacity every year from next year. While the Indian government has set a target of adding 12 GW capacity between April 2016 and March 2017, Bridge to India expects this figure to be much lower at 5 GW.
While crossing the 10 GW installed capacity mark is a significant event in India’s power sector, the capacity addition rate in the solar power sector remains way below what is needed to achieve the ambitious targets set by the government.