India’s Installed PV Up by 3.6% In 1 Month

• India added 245.47 MW solar power capacity from April 1, 2016 to April 30, 2016, taking the total installed capacity to 6,998.853 MW
• Rajasthan is the top Indian solar state with the highest installed capacity of 1,285.932 MW
• More solar PV plants have come online since April 30, 2016, hence the installed capacity should be higher now
• India is aiming to add 12 GW of installed capacity in the current fiscal year, though analysts believe it will be only around halve that number

India's cumulative installed solar power capacity was 6,753.38 MW on March 31, 2016. Within a month, as of April 30, 2016, it has increased by 3.6% to a total capacity at 6,998.853 MW.

This means in the first month of the current fiscal year 2016-17, the country had added 245.47 MW of solar power capacity. This includes rooftop capacity of 58.311 MW.

And the growth story quickly continues. Since April 30, 2016, ReNew Power and Hareon Solar have commissioned their 72 MW project in Andhra Pradesh. Azure Power commissioned 88 MW of solar projects as announced on May 5, 2016.

The state of Rajasthan continues to lead the tally having the largest installed capacity of all Indian states – 1,285.932 MW, followed by Gujarat with 1,119.173 MW, Tamil Nadu 1,061.82 MW, Andhra Pradesh at 792.966 MW and Madhya Pradesh at 776.37 MW. That means, the top three states have crossed the 1 GW mark in cumulative installed capacity.

While Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Minister, Piyush Goyal is seemingly confident of achieving the 12 GW capacity addition in this financial year, industry experts don't seem so sure. Clean energy consultancy, Bridge to India believes it will add only 5.4 GW, and Indian credit rating agency ICRA pegs it at 5.7 GW.