In the first half of 2017, 4.8 GW of solar energy was installed. In the whole of 2016, the figure was 4.3 GW. Photovoltaics are becoming increasingly cost-competitive, putting coal under pressure.
It was a solar first half, and the end of the year looks set to be even better. This is what is happening in India in the photovoltaic sector, which has recorded a new high in newly installed capacity: 4.8 gigawatts.
These figures cover only the first six months of the year, released by Mercom India Research, and are all the more impressive when one considers that in total, last year, the figure reached (only) 4.3 gigawatts. In its report "India solar market update", the research centre explains how in the second quarter large-scale installations recorded a total of 1,639 megawatts, while rooftop installations came to 230 megawatts.
The real boom came between January and March, when installed capacity amounted to 4,290 megawatts and 475 megawatts respectively. By the end of 2017, rooftop installations will have exceeded the first gigawatt-hour of installed solar energy. The state of Andhra Pradesh was the first in India to surpass 2 gigawatts of installed solar energy, followed by Rajasthan with 1.9 gigawatts, while seven others have exceeded 1 gigawatt. To date, installed capacity exceeds 14 gigawatts, while forecasts point to 175 by 2022.
Bloomberg reports, explaining how the price of electricity produced by photovoltaics has plummeted in recent months, making it the most cost-competitive in the world, drawing close to Chile and the United Arab Emirates. Nonetheless, demand for electricity produced from fossil fuels will continue to grow, even though it will have to contend with increasingly competitive solar energy. India's ten-year plan envisages an initial phase during which coal-fired power plants already under construction will be completed, while from 2022 no new projects will be approved.