India is expected to commission only about 2.2 gigawatt (GW) to 2.5 GW of new solar projects and 800 MW of wind projects in the second half of 2020 (H2 2020) due to the COVID-19 crisis, according to a latest report.
It added that the split of the newly added total capacity in calendar year 2020 would be about 3.5 GW of utility-scale solar capacity and 1.2 GW of wind.
“Rooftop solar industry is worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, we estimate that about 1 GW to 1.2 GW of total rooftop solar is likely to be added,” according to the report by JMK Research.
It said that 2021 would bounce back with expected commissioned capacity of 7.7 GW of new solar installations and 2.2 GW of new wind installations with the industry picking up the lost pace.
According to the report, India added about 1 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity in the first six months of this year, a 70 per cent drop compared to the same period last year. And about 325 MW of new wind capacity was added in H1 2020, which was 80 per cent less than the H1 installations of the previous year.
The report added that in the second quarter of 2020, Adani shipped the maximum quantity of modules with about 160 MW, while Jinko Solar was the leading player amongst Chinese suppliers.
Regarding tender activity, the report added that in Q2 2020 about 5.2 GW of new renewable energy tenders were issued, and auctions were completed for 4.5 GW of tenders. Amongst the auctions completed, ReNew, Eden, and SB Energy had won with 800 MW, 600 MW, and 600 MW capacity, respectively.
The report further added that the landed price for Chinese module suppliers, excluding GST and safeguard duty, was about 18-18.5 US cents per Watt in Q2 2020, which was a 21 per cent y-o-y decline from Q2 2019 prices.
