India’s Solar Energy Scene in 2023

Dr Krishna Kumar Vepakomma
As of 2023, India’s solar energy scene is experiencing steady growth and expansion, with the country ranking as the third-largest solar market globally. The Indian government has implemented various policies and initiatives to promote the use of solar energy, resulting in India’s solar capacity rising to a little over 64380 MW as of February 28, 2023. These include subsidies, tax incentives, and net metering policies to encourage households and businesses to install solar panels. The government has also launched a program called the Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan (KUSUM), which aims to install 30.8 GW of solar capacity by 2022 for farmers. KUSUM is a government scheme launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in India in 2018. The primary objective of KUSUM is to promote the use of solar energy in the agricultural sector in India. Under the scheme, farmers are incentivized to install solar panels on their farmland and generate electricity for their own consumption as well as to sell excess power to the grid. The scheme provides a subsidy of 30% to farmers for the installation of solar pumps and also provides financial support to distribution companies for the installation of grid-connected pumps. India is set to install 16.8 GW of new solar capacity in 2023. The new additions will likely include about 14 GW of utility-scale solar projects and 2.8 GW of rooftop solar projects, according to a new report by JMK Research. India is ranked 4th in the world when it comes to solar energy capacity. India’s capacity is expected to shoot up exponentially in the years to come as the country attempts to cope up with the ever-increasing number of solar consumers. India’s private companies are investing heavily in solar energy projects alongside government initiatives. The country’s solar power capacity has reached 64,380.68 MW as of February 2023, making it the largest renewable energy source in India. Rajasthan leads the country in total renewable energy capacity, followed by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. In the period between 2016 and 2022, India’s solar energy capacity has grown from 6.76 GW to 54 GW, with an annual growth rate of nearly 42%. One notable solar project is the Rewa Solar Power Project in Madhya Pradesh, which is one of the largest single-site solar projects in the world. The Indian government has introduced several initiatives to promote the adoption of renewable energy sources, including policies to encourage the development of solar parks and the implementation of net metering for rooftop solar installations. The government has also launched various schemes to support the installation of solar panels in public buildings, agricultural fields, and other areas. With 110 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) module capacity set to come online in the next three years, India will quickly become self-sufficient and the second-largest PV manufacturing country after China, finds a new joint report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research & Analytics. Bhupinder Bhalla, Secretary of India’s Ministry for New and Renewable Energy, has stated that by 2026, the country’s industry will have the capacity to manufacture solar modules worth 100 GW per year, making India a net exporter of solar power. This achievement would greatly assist in meeting India’s target of installing 500 GW of electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.Overall, solar energy is a promising source of renewable energy for India’s future energy needs.