NEW DELHI — India added a record 15.3 gigawatts of solar power capacity in the first quarter of 2026, marking the country’s highest quarterly solar installation total to date, according to a report by Mercom India Research.
Solar installations jumped 143% from 6.3 GW in the same quarter last year. The total was also higher than the 10.3 GW added in the October-to-December quarter of 2025.
Large-scale solar projects accounted for 12.6 GW, or nearly 82% of total solar installations during the January-to-March period. Open-access projects made up 21% of large-scale capacity additions.
India added 19.9 GW of total power generation capacity during the quarter, with solar accounting for 77% of new additions. The country’s cumulative installed solar capacity reached 152 GW as of March 2026.
Large-scale solar projects accounted for 85% of India’s installed solar base, while rooftop solar made up the remaining 15%.
Solar energy now represents 28% of India’s total installed power capacity and 55% of its installed renewable energy capacity.
Rajasthan remained India’s largest large-scale solar market, accounting for 32% of cumulative installed capacity. Gujarat followed with 21%, while Karnataka accounted for 11%.
Gujarat and Rajasthan together represented nearly four-fifths of new large-scale installations during the quarter.
Mercom said the record commissioning activity was driven by approaching policy deadlines and improved transmission readiness in key solar markets. The planned implementation of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers List-II in June 2026 pushed developers to accelerate commissioning under the existing procurement framework amid concerns over limited domestic cell availability and rising module costs.
Installation activity was also supported by stronger execution under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan, or PM-KUSUM, a government solar program for farmers and rural communities. Open-access projects also moved ahead before the next phase of reductions in the Inter-State Transmission System waiver.
“While project execution and commissioning activity remain strong, transmission readiness and evacuation infrastructure are struggling to keep pace with the rapid growth in renewable capacity. As renewable penetration increases, curtailment, grid flexibility, and storage integration are becoming critical to sustaining future growth,” Mercom Capital Group CEO Raj Prabhu said. (Source: IANS)
