India's solar installations crashed 81% to 205MW in Q2

This is the lowest figure recorded since Q3 2014.

India’s solar installations plunged 81% QoQ to 205MW of capacity in Q2, from 1.09GW installed in Q1, according to data from Mercom India. On a YoY basis, installations plummeted 86% from 1.51GW added in Q2 2019.

The quarter recorded the lowest figures in terms of solar installations since Q3 2014, which saw only 197MW of capacity additions. At the same time, investments in the country’s solar sector shrank 90% QoQ to $100m (₹7.5b).

In the first half of 2020, solar installations hit 1.GW, crashing 59% YoY from 3.2GW of capacity added in the first half of 2019.

Overall, power capacity additions across sources stood at 2.3GW in H1 2020, with renewable sources accounting for nearly 85% of the total. Furthermore, almost 70% came from solar and wind, with solar taking up 56% of the new capacity added.

Large-scale installations during the quarter were only 120MW, compared to 896MW in Q1. On a YoY basis, installations shrank about 90%. However, recovery is not yet off the table as there are currently 41.7GW of large-scale projects under development, and another 32.4GW tendered and awaiting auction.

Meanwhile, rooftop solar installations fell 56% to 85MW compared to 194 MW installed in the last quarter. Compared to that of Q2 2019, the figures slipped 71%.

About 4GW of solar is expected to be added in 2020, which was the worst-case scenario projected in Mercom India’s previous report.