What’s the news?

• A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research highlighted that India is likely to miss its solar energy target of 300 GW (gigawatt) for 2030 by around 86 GW.
• It states that India is also expected to miss its goal of having 100 GW of installed solar capacity by about 27% this year.

News in detail

• As of December 2021, India’s cumulative installed solar capacity was 55 GW, with grid-connected utility-scale projects contributing 77%, and the rest coming from grid-connected rooftop solar (20%) and mini or micro off-grid projects (3%).
• By December 2022, there is likely to be a shortfall of 25 GW from the 40 GW rooftop solar target, and 1.8 GW from the 60 GW utility-scale solar target.
• The 27 GW shortfall from the 2022 target can be attributed to multiple challenges, including regulatory roadblocks, net metering limits, basic customs duty (BCD) on imported cells and modules, issues with the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM), unsigned power supply agreements (PSAs), banking restrictions, etc.
• With eight months of 2022 remaining, only about 50% of the 100 GW target has been met. Approximately, 19 GW of solar capacity is expected to be added in 2022 – 15.8 GW from utility-scale and 3.5 GW from rooftop solar.
• Between 2011 and 2021, the solar energy sector in India grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 59% from 0.5 GW in 2011 to 55 GW in 2021.
• The Centre launched the National Solar Mission in January 2010, under which the total installed capacity target was set at 20 GW by 2022.
• In 2015, the target was revised to 100 GW, with no change in the timeline. Later in August 2021, the government increased the target to 300 GW for 2030.
• MNRE website recently stated that India surpassed Italy to achieve the 5th global position in solar power deployment; the top four are China, the United States, Japan and Germany.
• Eg:  The utility scale segment is on track to achieve nearly 97% of its 60 GW target. On the other hand, rooftop solar has severely underperformed over the years, with just over a quarter of the 40 GW target being achieved. By December 2022, this segment is expected to fall short of its target by 25 GW.

Reference:

1. https://www.hindustantimes.com/environment/india-may-miss-its-300-gw-solar-energy-target-for-2030report-101649822523038.html