Open access solar installations rose two-fold in India to 1.8 gigawatts during January-March this year supported by several factors, including reduced module cost, US-based Mercom Capital has said.

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Solar power through open access is an arrangement where a power producer establishes a solar power plant to supply green energy to consumers.

India added over 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of solar open access capacity in the first quarter of the calendar year of 2024, posting a two-fold increase from 909.3 megawatts (MW) in Q4 2023, the report titled 'Mercom India Solar Open Access Market' said.

As of March 2024, the cumulative installed solar open access capacity stood at 14.3 GW.

Solar open access developers benefited from lower Chinese module prices and the suspension of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) order for projects commissioned through March 2024.

Additionally, lower power purchase agreement (PPA) prices, due to reduced project costs, further incentivized consumers to adopt solar open access."Demand for green energy open access, especially solar, has been mounting, driven by the financial savings and initiatives to add renewable energy in the power procurement mix.

"An additional push comes from the corporates leading climate change mitigation strategies. If not for the regulatory restrictions, green energy open access could be the driving force that helps India meet its non-fossil fuel targets," said Priya Sanjay, Managing Director at Mercom India.

In Q1 2024, Rajasthan led solar open access capacity additions, accounting for almost 28 per cent followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra with 21 per cent and 12 per cent of capacity additions, respectively.

The pipeline of solar open access projects under development and in the pre-construction phase was over 18 GW as of March 2024. Almost 74 per cent of pipeline projects were in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.