State has most solar projects lined up for 2018: report

Tamil Nadu has the most number of solar projects with a capacity of over 2,000 MW lined up for the calendar year 2018, according to the latest data from Mercom Capital Group. Tamil Nadu had solar installations with a cumulative capacity of 1,720 MW in 2017, the firm said. Telangana became the first State to surpass it, with a capacity of 3,000 MW, followed by Karnataka at 2,744 MW and Andhra Pradesh at 1,225 MW. While Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are ranked top solar States in terms of installations in 2017, their future project pipelines are not very strong, according to the firm. Low demand “Tamil Nadu has the largest project pipeline but the State does not have a good reputation for project execution. Despite its lacklustre reputation, most of the State’s projects are now under construction and are expected to be completed,” Mercom said. Tamil Nadu has the largest installed rooftop solar project capacity in India, and it is closely followed by Karnataka and Maharashtra, it said. According to the firm, India’s solar energy generation capacity reached nearly 20,000 MW in 2017, with the southern States playing a major role. However, the firm expects additional total installations to fall by 22% to about 7,500 MW in terms of capacity in 2018 from 9,600 MW in 2017.