Solar PV additions have slowed down in the first quarter of 2025 in India, with 6.7GW of new additions, according to a report from Mercom India Research.
Despite a 25% drop from the same period in 2024, and a 14% decrease from the nearly 7.8GW added in Q4 2024, the 6.7GW solar PV installed in the first three months of 2025 still remains the third-best quarter in solar PV additions in India, as shown in the chart below. Solar PV accounted for more than half of all new power capacity registered in Q1 2025 in India.
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Utility-scale accounted for the majority of the solar PV additions with 82%, and represented 5.5GW in Q1 2025. However, several projects expected to be commissioned in Q1 2025 have been postponed due to insufficient substation capacity and transmission infrastructure, land acquisition challenges and delays in power purchase agreement (PPA) signings, said Mercom.
Moreover, a significant shortage of domestically manufactured modules, combined with higher prices – the average cost of a utility-scale PV project increased by 3% from the previous quarter and 1% YoY – also created procurement hurdles for developers. The solar manufacturing industry in India has been steadily adding solar cell and module capacity in the past few years, and last year alone added 11.6GW and 25.3GW of solar cell and module annual nameplate capacity, respectively.
The three leading states – Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra – accounted for more than three-quarters of the capacity additions in Q1 2025, with 35%, 30%, and 16%, respectively.
Among the projects commissioned in Q1 2025 is a 100MW PV plant from renewables developer Juniper Green Energy, which will supply electricity to the neighbouring country of Bhutan.
Last year, India added a record 25.2GW of solar PV, more than tripling the 8.3GW of PV added in 2023. Mercom’s numbers are more or less on par with the ones from energy consultancy JMK Research, which registered 24.5GW of Indian PV additions last year.
At the end of March 2025, the cumulative installed solar PV in India stood at 104.6GW, representing 22% of all installed power capacity and nearly half (48%) of the total renewable energy installed.
Furthermore, in Q1 2025, the total solar PV volume tendered decreased by 53% YoY to 14.4GW, while 6.4GW of solar projects were auctioned, down 74% from the same period the prior year.
