Rooftop solar installations rise 34.7% to 431 MW in Jul-Sep: Mercom

The rooftop solar installations in India registered a 34.7 per cent year-on-year jump to 431 MW during July-September 2023, aided by a fall in module prices, Mercom India said.

The rooftop solar installations were at 320 megawatt (MW) during the three-month period of 2022, the research firm said in a report.

The rooftop solar capacity addition was also higher at 1.3 gigawatt (GW) in the first nine months of 2023, compared to 1.2 GW in January-September 2022.India's cumulative rooftop solar capacity reached 10.1 gigawatts (GW) at the end of September 30, 2023, the 'Q3 2023 Mercom India Rooftop Solar Report' said.

"We are starting to see a surge in momentum in rooftop installations. The significant drop in module prices has reached a turning point, sparking increased procurement activities that offer attractive returns for rooftop solar investments. We foresee two very robust quarters coming up," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

The majority of installations were in the residential segment, followed by the commercial and industrial (C&I) market segments.

During the quarter, average rooftop solar system cost fell 13.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and around 5 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Gujarat continued to lead in rooftop solar installations, contributing to 26.7 per cent of the cumulative installations, followed by Maharashtra (13.5 per cent) and Rajasthan (8.3 per cent).

The top 10 states accounted for around 77 per cent of the cumulative rooftop solar installations as of September 2023.

Between Q3 2022 and Q3 2023, Kerala recorded the highest compounded growth of 15 per cent, followed by Gujarat (7.3 per cent) and Maharashtra (5.1 per cent).

In Q3 2023, 119 MW of rooftop solar tenders were announced, down 61.6 per cent compared to 310.6 MW in Q3 2022.

Around 62 per cent of the total tendered capacity during the quarter was for government buildings in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, and other states.

A subsidiary of US-based Mercom Capital Group Mercom India is an energy research company with expertise in cleantech markets.