Open access solar capacity grows 21% to 907 MW in September quarter: Report

The country recorded a 20.6 per cent rise in new installations of open access solar capacity to 907 MW in the September quarter, according to Mercom India.

India had added 752 MW (Mega Watt) of open access solar capacities in the year-ago period, the research firm said in its 'Q3 2023 Solar Open Access Market Report'.

On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, the capacity addition was 36 per cent higher than the 666 MW in the April-June quarter, the report said on Monday. As of September 2023, the country's cumulative installed open access solar capacity was 11 GW (Giga Watt).

Under the open access model, an individual or a company can set up a green energy plant and sell the clean power generated in the open market to discoms or private consumers.

"The drop in solar project costs attracted consumer attention this quarter. Power purchase agreements that were on the back burner are now being signed," Priya Sanjay, Managing Director at Mercom India, said.

Emphasis on greening products and services has gained momentum in large and medium-scale enterprises and is pushing the growth of green energy open access market, she added.

In the first nine months of 2023, India added 2.2 GW of open access solar, down 7.3 per cent compared to 2.3 GW installed in January-September 2022. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu followed with 14.1 per cent and 10.3 per cent of the cumulative installed open access solar capacity, respectively.

The top five states accounted for 88.5 per cent of open access solar installations in the quarter. India had 12.5 GW of open access solar projects under various stages of development at the end of the September quarter.

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