The total installed solar capacity in the open-access market has reached 3.6 GW as of December 2019, and the pipeline of projects under development and in pre-construction phase is estimated to be approximately 1.5 GW, according to a report by Mercom India Research.
Mercom is an energy research and consulting firm.
In its latest report titled ‘Open Access Solar Market in India: Key States’, the consulting firm said that based on cumulative installations as of December 31, 2019, Karnataka was the largest market for open access, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Haryana.
States such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have favourable policies for captive and group captive projects.
The average open access tariff in these states range from ₹3.50 to ₹5/ kWh, with a yearly escalation of one to two per cent depending on the contract terms, the report said.
The report added that just because a state’s policy looks attractive on paper, it does not necessarily translate to success on the ground. According to the report findings, approvals are tough to get, and government agencies are making it hard to get open access projects implemented.