India added 3.8 gigawatt (GW) of solar open access capacity in the first half of the calendar year 2025, down over 4% from 3.9 GW added in the first half of 2024, as per data from Mercom.
In the second quarter of 2025, the country added 2.7 GW of solar open access capacity.
Installations in H1 2024 were skewed higher as open access developers rushed to commission projects ahead of the reimposition of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers, Mercom said in its latest report. By comparison, H1 2025 saw a slight decline, with project execution constrained by delays in connectivity approvals and limited transmission infrastructure in Q1.
Installations however rebounded in Q2 of 2025 as developers rushed to commission projects ahead of the ISTS charges waiver deadline in June, with many partially commissioning projects to secure eligibility for the waiver.
Maharashtra leads Q2 additions
In Q2 2025, Maharashtra led solar open access capacity additions, accounting for over 30% of installations.
The country’s cumulative solar open access capacity as of June 2025 stood at 24.6 GW.
Karnataka remained at the top in cumulative installations accounting for approximately 24% of solar open access capacity at the end of Q2 2025 followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu at 18% and 12% respectively of cumulative installations as of June 2025.
As per Mercom, the pipeline of solar open access projects under development and in the pre-construction stage stood at over 31 GW as of June 2025.
Rooftop solar sees strong growth
During the first half of 2025, the country also added 2.8 GW of rooftop solar capacity, up 158% compared to 1.1 GW in H1 2024.
In Q2 2025, India added 1.6 GW of rooftop solar capacity registering a 33% rise from 1.2 GW in Q1 2025. The installed capacity rose over 121% from 731 MW installed in Q2 2024.
The growth in rooftop solar installations during the first half was driven by the clearance of delayed registrations, the commissioning of new systems, and enhancements to the PM Suryaghar portal, Mercom said.
In the second quarter of 2025, rooftop solar additions were led by the residential segment contributing over 74% of the total installations, followed by the industrial segment at over 19%, the commercial segment at 6%, and the government segment at nearly 0.5%.
As of June 2025, the country had a cumulative installed rooftop capacity of 16.5 GW.
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh were among the top states in terms of cumulative installed rooftop solar capacity.