India's solar installation down by 49%, targets 30% lower than those set by govt

By A Representative
While India's solar installations in Q1 2019 may have "increased slightly" at 1,737 MW, 4% growth compared to 1,638 MW installed in Q4 2018, installations were down by 49% year-over-year (YoY) compared to 3,377 MW installed in Q1 2018, says Mercom Communications India is a subsidiary of U.S.-based Mercom Capital Group, a leading clean energy communications and consulting firm.
In its new report, Mercom says, "Rooftop installations fell by 33% (YoY) with capacity additions of over 260 MW in Q1 2019 compared to 390 MW in Q1 2018. The slowdown was largely due to ongoing elections which made it difficult to get government approvals", adding, "The large-scale solar project development pipeline for India stands at 19.4 gigawatts (GW) with 31.7 GW tendered and pending auctions at the end of Q1 2019."
Mercom’s report estimates solar installations in India would reach 71 GW by the end of 2022, almost 30% lower than the 100 GW target set by the Government of India, sewking "an aggressive push and supportive policies" to ensure that the goal achieved.
The report says, India’s cumulative installed capacity reached 30 GW at the end of Q1 2019. "However, rooftop installations still only make up 12% of total solar installations and the country has achieved only 9% of its targeted rooftop capacity addition of 40 GW by 2022", it underlines.

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