India installed about 8.5 GW of solar capacity in the first nine months of 2023, which is about 25% less than the PV installations during the same period in 2022, according to a new report by JMK Research.

The 8.5 GW of capacity additions included 5.06 GW of utility-scale solar, 3 GW of rooftop solar, and 0.4 GW of off-grid solar. Utility-scale solar installations in the January-September period fell 84% to 5.06 GW, from 9.3 GW installed during the same period in 2022. Rooftop solar installations, on the other hand, rose to 3 GW.

In the wind segment, 2.28 GW of new capacity was added from January to September 2023. This is 123% higher than the 1.02 GW capacity installed in the first nine months of 2022, according to JMK Research.

Adani holds the top spot in cumulative solar and wind installations as of Sept. 30, 2023, boasting 8.3 GW of operational capacity and 20.4 GW in pipeline projects. The third quarter saw additions of 0.85 GW of utility-scale solar capacity and 0.7 GW of rooftop solar.

Sungrow was the leading inverter supplier followed by Sineng and FIMER.

Jinko topped in solar module supplies with about 23.5% share of total shipments.

Projections

JMK Research analysts expect the installation activity to pick up with about 4.8 GW of solar and 2.2 GW of wind capacity likely to be added in the next two quarters.

Annually, India is expected to install about 11 GW of new solar capacity in 2023, including 7 GW from utility-scale, 3.5 GW from rooftop solar, and another 500 MW from off-grid component. Whereas in the wind segment, around 3 GW of new capacity is likely to be added in 2023.