India surpasses 7.8GW of PV, Chandigarh airport to go solar

August 5, 2016
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The passing of the GST tax bill this week may increase costs for solar developers in 2017. Credit: MNRE

India hit 7,805MW of solar PV on 30 June this year, according to figures from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Just more than 44GW of renewables capacity is now online with wind power still the dominant technology, although solar is fast approaching.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Cumulative deployment of various renewable energy systems in India as on 30 June 2016 was as follows:

Credit: MNRE / provided by Mercom

The proportion of each technology in the Indian renewables' mix was as follows:

  • Solar power 18%
  • Wind power 61%
  • Bio-Power 11%
  • Small Hydro Power 10%
  • Waste-to-energy 0.3%

The figures, which were reported by energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal, may seem odd given that Goyal recently took to Twitter to say that the country had surpassed 8GW of solar.

India’s rapid solar progress over the last 18 months may be hindered in 2017 after the Indian parliament yesterday approved the GST tax bill, which although likely to improve the ease of doing business for all industries across India, is also likely to significantly increase development costs for solar developers due to the removal of various tax incentives for solar.

Chandigarh airport going solar

In related news, Indian renewables firm ReNew Power has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Chandigarh International Airport (CHIAL) for a 5MW solar plant to be built at the airport.

The power generated by the installation, which will include single-axis trackers, will be utilized for captive consumption of the airport and will reduce its energy costs by 20%.

ReNew won the project through competitive bidding in February this year.

Goyal also mentioned plans for the Ministry of Railways to harness 1GW of solar power by putting up plants on railway buildings and stations as well as land-based plants.

Read Next

October 27, 2025
Waaree Energies has secured four solar module supply contracts totalling 692MW – three for projects in India and one in the US through its subsidiary.
October 27, 2025
Premier Energies has acquired a 51% stake each in transformer maker Transcon and inverter producer KSolare Energy. 
October 16, 2025
Jakson Green and Blueleaf Energy have reached financial close for the 840MWp Bikaner solar projects in Rajasthan, western India. 
October 15, 2025
Wood Mackenzie has warned of a supply bottleneck as the renewable energy shift drives a spike in global copper demand over the next decade.
October 15, 2025
Ciel & Terre has launched a new floating PV structure designed to address the increasingly large scale of floating solar projects.
October 15, 2025
Indian module manufacturer Saatvik Green Energy, through its subsidiary Saatvik Solar Industries, has secured solar PV module orders worth INR6.89 billion (US$78 million).

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Lisbon, Portugal