Solar Establishes Itself in 2022 in India With Growth, Highest Generation Share Among Renewables

The share of solar power is finally making a significant impact on total generation numbers, as October data from the Central Electricity Authority indicates. From a total installed capacity share of over 15% (61+ GW out of 408 GW of total installed capacity in India), in October, solar’s share in actual generation numbers also hit a high of 5.85% in the April-October period this year. That makes it the number 1 renewable source, after taking large hydro out of the equation. Overtaking wind energy in generation this year has also been a highlight, after overtaking wind energy in capacity installed last year.

From the solar generation point of view, the first 6 months of the financial year 2022 have been promising. From Apr-22 to Sep-22, total solar generation was 48013.99 MU. If we compare the same with total solar generation in 2021, we can see growth of 28.87%. In the first 6 months of FY-21, the total solar generation of India was 34151.63 MU.

 

Month	Solar Generation for Year 2021 (In MU)	Solar Generation for Year 2022 (In MU)
January	4865.41	6594.4
February	5435.79	7254.15
March	6754.24	5600.68
April	6122.18	8323.92
May	5994.66	8828.29
June	600622	8259.91
July	5170.03	6965.88
August	5449.51	7428.25
September	5409.08	8207.72
Total	645822.9	67463.21

 

Although the total solar generation in the second half of H1 (Jul-Sep) was less than the first half of H1(Apr-Jun). After a decline in solar generation by 15% in July, we can see constant growth in solar generation. In August, India generated 7428.25 MU of power while in September India generated 8207.73 MU of solar energy.

Comparing Aug and Sept, we can see an M-o-M growth of 10%. Comparing the solar generation of Sept 2022 with Sept 2021, we can see a Y-o-Y growth of 51%. Although India has a long way to go to reach the target of 500 GW by 2030, the solar generation data from the H1 of Fy-22 is very promising.

As per the publicly available data, total renewable energy installed in October 2022 was 119092.59 MW & total renewable energy generation was 14238.57 MU. This includes the entire spectrum of renewable energy (Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Biomass Energy, Bagasse Energy, Small Hydro Energy, & Others Energy).

Installation and generation data given below:

 

Category	Installed Capacity (MW) (as on 31.10.2022)	RE Generation (MU) Oct’2022	RE Generation (MU) Oct’2021	% of same period Last Year	RE Generation (MU) April’2022-Oct’2022	RE Generation (MU) April’2021-Oct’2021	% of same period Last Year
Wind Energy	41843.98	3421.8	2977.92	114.9	53046.71	51272.74	103.45
Solar Energy	61624.27	8726.83	6225.88	140.17	56740.09	40377.57	140.52
Biomass Energy	10205.61	215.17	234.16	91.8917	1735.9	1998.59	86.85
Bagasse Energy		348.19	337.43	103.18	3439.11	2759.3	124.63
Small Hydro Energy	4923.495	1297.67	1275.25	101.75	7625.02	7218.84	105.62
Others Energy	495.23	228.88	198.64	115.22	1477.03	1240.95	119.02
Total Energy	119092.58	14238.56	11249.31	126.57	124063.88	104868.01	118.3

 

If we compare the renewable energy generation of October 2022 with October 2021, we can see Y-o-Y growth of 126.57%. Solar energy generation also increased by 140.17%.

Now, let’s have a look to renewable energy generation from April to October 2022. From April-22 to October-22, the total RE generation was 124063.88 MU, while from April-21 to October-21 India generated 104868.02 MU. Here also we can see a Y-o-Y growth of 118.30%. Solar energy generation also increased by 140.57%.