According to data released by market research authority Mercom India, India made significant progress in the PV sector in the first half of 2024, adding 11.3 gigawatts (GW) of annual PV module capacity and 2 GW of annual solar cell capacity.

By June 2024, India's annual PV module capacity had climbed to 77.2 GW and solar cell capacity to 7.6 GW. The current annual PV module capacity has significantly surpassed India's total solar installations, with the country achieving a new high of 15 GW of installed capacity in the first half of the year.

Despite TOPCon technology's leading position in the solar cell technology market, single-crystal passivated emitter and backside cell (PERC) modules are still the main force in India's production capacity. TOPCon, polycrystalline and thin-film components followed, with First Solar, a Us-Based manufacturer of cadmium telluride films, opening a 3.3GW plant in Tamil Nadu earlier this year.

Strong drivers of new manufacturing capacity in the first half of 2024 include more than 132 GW of solar PV projects planned between 2024 and 2026, as well as the relaunch of the Approved Model and Manufacturer List (ALMM) policy in April.

Gujarat is home to 52% of solar cell production capacity, while the state also accounts for 45% of solar module production capacity. Tamil Nadu (10%) and Rajasthan (8%) followed. These three states have been the focus of numerous solar cell and module capacity announcements recently. After Gujarat, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh are among the top states in terms of annual solar cell capacity with 28% and 10% share respectively.

According to Mercom, as more companies start the construction of module and solar cell factories in the coming months, India's annual module capacity will exceed 172 GW and solar cell capacity will exceed 80 GW by 2026. This forecast coincides with the timing of the implementation of solar cell ALMM by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India on April 1, 2026. Since September, seven companies have announced more than 23 GW of solar cell capacity and 42 GW of module capacity.

By then, India's module capacity will be close to ten times its current installed solar PV capacity and almost double its cumulative installed capacity. If Mercom's predictions come true, India will not only be able to meet domestic demand, but also be able to export to other regions, including the United States.

It is worth noting that although India is actively promoting the construction of domestic solar manufacturing capacity, the industry is facing the challenge of global oversupply. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, by the end of 2024, the global solar PV installed capacity will be close to 600 gigawatts, while the annual module capacity will reach 1.2 terawatts (TW). Finlay Colville, head of research at PV Tech, noted that the current downturn in the solar industry is expected to continue until 2026. In this context, the development of India's solar manufacturing industry will attract much attention. Editor/Xu Shengpeng