India’s solar capacity surges, but power output struggles to keep pace

What is Eninrac’s Overall Outlook on India’s solar capacity

Viewpoint by Mr. Ravi Shekhar (MD, Eninrac)

“the likelihood of a tepid growth in solar power output, is anticipated to continue for another four to five years until India has sufficient energy storage capacity.” said Ravi Shekhar, founder and managing director, Eninrac, a research consultancy.

One of the key reasons behind this has been the weather patterns recently. The solar radiation has been lower in the current financial year in India, because of the fact that the monsoon was much better than expected long term average, according to Vikram V, vice-president, co-group head - corporate ratings, ICRA.

Viewpoint by Ms. Nitika Sharma (VP, Eninrac)

“As of January 2025, India’s solar power installed capacity reached 100.1 GW, reflecting an addition of about 25.8 GW between January 2024 and January 2025. This represented more than double capacity addition during the previous year – January 2023 to January 2024,” said Nitika Sharma, VP - corporate strategy and new business, Eninrac Consulting.

“While the growth in solar power installed capacity has been remarkable, the actual power output from solar energy has not been as substantial. Despite the 25.8 GW capacity addition, solar energy has contributed an average annual power output of only about 15 per cent, resulting in an effective realised capacity of about 3.9 GW from January 2024 to January 2025,” she said.