Nearly 58 percent of the Q1 2023 capacity was installed in the residential segment, while industrial and commercial consumers accounted for 28 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

 

“After an up-and-down year in 2022, we are beginning to see steady growth in rooftop solar driven by solid fundamentals. System costs are beginning to trend downwards while electricity rates are rising, making solar economics attractive for consumers, which should lead to an accelerated growth trajectory in the coming quarters,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

 

Mercom stated installations in Q1 2023 were primarily driven by the commissioning of delayed projects that applied for approvals before October 2022. The projects were granted exemption from the Approved List of Models and Manufactures (ALMM) order in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s clarification issued in October 2022.

 

Gujarat, Kerala, and Karnataka added the most rooftop solar capacity in Q1 2023, contributing to almost 70 percent of capacity additions.

 

Gujarat remained the leading state for rooftop solar, accounting for 24 percent of the cumulative installations as of March 31, 2023, followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan. 

 

Industrial installations in the quarter were primarily in pharmaceutical, retail, chemical, foaming, laboratories, fast-moving consumer goods, automobile, textile, metals & mining, and cement industries.