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February 7, 2019Out of the 5,000 MW of renewable energy additions during the last year (Apr-Dec’18), solar accounted for 3,560 MW including 3,270 MW from ground-mounted projects and 290 MW from rooftop segment. Wind installations increased to 993 MW from just 569 MW in the last year.
However, India added just one-third of its total target of renewable energy capacity for the year ended December 2018. The country installed a total of 5,002 MW during the nine months ended December 2018 as compared to over 5,600 MW during the same time last year. MNRE has a target of installing a total capacity of 15,602 MW for 2018-19, including solar capacity additions of 11,000 MW, and wind energy target of 4,000 MW. To achieve its target, the Centre has declared a bidding trajectory of 60 GW capacity of solar energy and 20 GW capacity of wind energy till March 31, 2020, spread over each of the two years.
Looking at the table below, it is evident that solar energy continues to grab a lion’s share when it comes to capacity additions, as compared to the other non-conventional sources of energy. As compared to solar power additions, coal accounted for just 2,130 MW additions during the nine months.
| Total Additions till | Apr-Dec’18 | Total Dec’18 |
| Total Renewable Energy (in MW) | 5,002 | 74,786 |
| Solar Energy | 3,560 | 25,212 |
| Wind Energy | 993 | 35,138 |
| Biomass | 425 | 9,780 |
| Hydro | 172 | 4,517 |
At the end of the year, total solar capacity installed totaled to 25,212 MW, which includes 23,858 MW of ground-mounted and 1,354 MW of rooftop capacity. It is sad to see rooftop solar’s contribution to be so little in the overall solar capacity additions. The recent budget emphasized upon driving growth and electrification through rooftop solar installations. But there was no clear roadmap defined. Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan are the top states by solar capacity.