India installs show 10% quarter-on-quarter decline in Q1 2024 with 367MW of rooftop solar

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
asian development bank
India’s Q1 installations show a 10% decline in capacity installed versus Q4, 2023 and a 24% decline year-on-year. Image: Asian Development Bank

Clean energy market research firm Mercom India has published its latest research into rooftop solar in India. The findings show that India installed 367MW of new rooftop capacity in the first quarter of 2024.

This installation total represents a 10% decline from the capacity installed in the final quarter of 2023 and a 24% decline year-on-year. This is the third consecutive quarter that Mercom’s figures have shown declining additions in the Indian rooftop solar sector, which has grown to a cumulative operational capacity of 10.8GW. In the latest quarter, rooftop solar accounted for just 3.7% of India’s total solar installations.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The rooftop solar sector continues to be concentrated in a number of states, with Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala and Karnataka responsible for 67% of new rooftop additions in the most recent quarter. The ten largest states by rooftop solar capacity also accounted for 77% of the cumulative rooftop solar installations as of March.

Quarterly changes in Indian solar power additions. Credit: PV Tech

However, the relative struggles of the rooftop sector do not mean that Indian solar, in general, is performing poorly. As the graph above demonstrates, the first quarter was a record-breaking one for Indian solar, with the addition of 10GW of new capacity to the sector, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 400%.

Much of this growth stems from the temporary easing of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), a piece of Indian legislation to prioritise the use of renewable energy technology built in India, that was suspended to encourage growth in the Indian renewable energy sector.

The ALMM came back into effect on 1 April, the day after the period covered by Mercom India’s figures, and the removal of overseas modules, notably from China, could lead to installation figures more in line with historical precedent in the coming quarters.

While government attention has been a boon for the solar sector in general, similar legislative support could be necessary to aid the rooftop sector. Last November, the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a policy research institute, noted that India’s rooftop installations could reach 32GW if the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy subsidises rooftop projects. Without these subsidies, CEEW expects almost negligible growth in the rooftop sector, expecting installed capacity to be no higher than 11GW.

Read Next

Premium
August 8, 2025
Energy storage escaped much of the pain inflicted on solar, but foreign entity restrictions may create some supply-chain challenges.
Premium
August 7, 2025
July 2025, the peak of the Australian winter season, saw generation from utility-scale and rooftop solar increase by 12.78% year-on-year in the National Electricity Market (NEM).
August 6, 2025
The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has published the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM) for solar cells, which contains 13GW of annual nameplate capacity across six manufacturers.
August 6, 2025
US tracker manufacturer FTC Solar has posted US$19.9 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2025, up year-on-year for the second quarter in a row.
Premium
August 5, 2025
Although residential solar in the US has lost its main tax credit, there is still hope that its popularity and economics could win the day.
August 5, 2025
Residential solar installations will slow in the US over the coming years, though long-term installations will remain significant, according to new research from energy analyst Wood Mackenzie.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines