Solar power is an important source of electricity in India. Since the mid-2010s, India has increased its solar power significantly with the help of various government initiatives. By August 2026, India's solar power installed capacity reached 168.04 GWAC. The nation is one of the world's fastest adopters of solar power, making it the third-largest producer of solar power globally as of 2026, after China and the United States.
India is home to some of the world's largest solar parks as well, including the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan, the nation's largest and the world's 11th-largest as of 2026, with a capacity of 2,245 MW. The Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka is the nation's second-largest and the world's twelfth-largest, also as of 2026.
With the provision of allowing 100% foreign direct investment in renewable energy, during 2010–19, the foreign capital invested in India on solar power projects was nearly US$20.7 billion, one of the world's highest invested in a single nation so far. In FY2023-24, the nation received US$3.76 billion foreign capital, and is executing 40 GW tenders for solar and hybrid projects. The nation has established over 100 solar parks to make land available to the promoters of solar plants. The Gujarat Hybrid Renewable Energy Park, being built near Khavda in the Rann of Kutch desert in Gujarat, will generate 30 GWAC power from both solar panels and wind turbines. It will become the world's largest hybrid renewable energy park spread over an area of 72,600 hectares (726 km2) of desert. As of 2026, the plant has completed to generate around 11 GW of power, and the remaining will be fully completed by 2029.
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is headquartered in New Delhi founded by the India itself. The nation has also put forward the concept of "One Sun, One World, One Grid" and "World Solar Bank" to harness abundant solar power on a global scale.
History Launched in 2003, the Indian Solar Loan Programme was a four-year partnership between United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UNEP Risoe Centre, and two of India's largest banks, the Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank, a particularly impactful program in rural areas of South India where the electricity grid did not yet extend.UNEP wins Energy Globe award
On 11 January 2010, the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh inaugurated Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, aiming to achieve 1000MW, 10GW and 20GW solar capacity in regular intervals over the following 12 year period. The final target of 20 GW capacity for 2022 was achieved four years ahead of schedule. In the 2015 Union budget of India, the third phase was revised to 100GW (including 40 GW from rooftop solar) by 2022, targeting an investment of 100 billion. The target was widely missed by 40,000 MW shortfall due to poor performance in the rooftop sector, and was instead reached on January 31 2025. The mission also aimed to achieve grid parity (electricity delivered at the same cost and quality as that delivered on the grid) which it achieved in 2017 with the cost around per kWh, around 18% lower than the average price for electricity generated by coal-fired plants.
On 30 November 2015, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and the President of France Francois Hollande launched the International Solar Alliance, an alliance of 121 solar rich countries lying partially or fully between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn with several countries outside of this area also involved with the organization. The ISA aims to promote and develop solar power amongst its members and has the objective of mobilising $1 trillion of investment by 2030.
Rooftop solar power accounts for 2.1 GW in 2018, of which 70% is industrial or commercial. In addition to its large-scale grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) initiative, India is developing off-grid solar power for local energy needs. Solar products have increasingly helped to meet rural needs; by the end of 2015 just under 10 lakh (1 million) solar lanterns were sold in the country, reducing the need for kerosene. That year, 118,700 solar home lighting systems were installed and 46,655 solar street lighting installations were provided under a national programme; just over 14 lakh (1.4 million) solar cookers were distributed in India.
Solar potential
The solar power potential of India is assessed at 10,830 GW in 2025. With about 300 clear and sunny days in a year, the calculated solar energy incidence on India's land area is about 5,000 lakh crore (5,000 trillion) kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year (or 5 EWh/yr). The solar energy available in a single year exceeds the possible energy output of all of the fossil fuel energy reserves in India. The daily average solar-power-plant generation capacity in India is 0.30 kWh per m2 of used land area, equivalent to 1,400–1,800 peak (rated) capacity operating hours in a year with available, commercially-proven technology.
In June 2015, India began a project to measure solar radiation with a spatial resolution of . This solar-radiation measuring network provides the basis for the Indian solar-radiation atlas. 121 solar radiation resource assessment (SRRA) stations have been installed across India by the National Institute of Wind Energy, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to create a database of solar-energy potential. Data is collected and reported to the Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET). Among the parameters measured are Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) and Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI).
Currently, 90% of India's solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is concentrated in just nine states, raising concerns about the resilience of a future PV-dominated grid. Recent studies have shown that during cyclones, PV generation can plummet to near-zero levels. Given that a significant portion of India is prone to cyclones, dust storms, and monsoon rains, deploying PV plants in regions with uncorrelated irradiance profiles can significantly reduce the overall risk of low generation and variability of PV output. Concentration of PV capacity in limited regions may present challenges for grid stability in a PV-dominated future. Geographically diversifying PV sites in India yields multifaceted benefits beyond weather resilience. It can facilitate the strategic integration of regional irradiation patterns, resulting in a balanced year-round energy harvest. Moreover, expanding the geographical footprint extends the effective "daylight hours" for solar generation, bolstering grid reliability. Additionally, this approach mitigates peak production surges, easing grid management and potentially accommodating further PV capacity. Notably, it fosters synergy with existing hydropower infrastructure in the Northeast and leverages the exceptional solar potential of Ladakh, unlocking diverse renewable energy avenues.
Installations by region
Summary
+ Installed capacity (MWAC) State or territory 31 Dec2016Annual Report 2016-17 Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. pg 58. Retrieved 28 June 2021. Archived on 21 April 2021. 31 March2017Annual Report 2017-2018. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. pg 34. Retrieved 28 June 2021. Archived on 21 April 2021. 31 March2019Annual Report 2019-2020. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. pg 19. Retrieved 28 June 2021. Archived on 21 April 2021. 31 March2021Solar Energy. Overview. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. Retrieved 28 June 2021. Archived on 4 June 2021. (NB: This site keeps updating.) 31 March202331 March 2025Rajasthan 1,317.64 1,812.93 3,226.79 5,732.58 17,055.7028,761.22Gujarat 1,158.5 1,249.37 2,440.134,430.82 9,254.5719,421.89Madhya Pradesh 840.35 857.04 1,840.162,463.22 2,802.145,156.78Maharashtra 430.46 452.37 1,633.542,289.97 4,722.9011,151.53Punjab 545.43 793.95 905.62 959.50 1,167.261,421.43Uttar Pradesh 239.26 336.73 960.10 1,712.50 2,515.223,368.87Uttarakhand 45.10 233.49 306.75 368.41 575.53 593.07Haryana 53.27 81.40 224.52 407.83 1,029.162,099.33Delhi 38.78 40.27 126.89 192.97 218.26319.30Jammu & Kashmir + Ladakh 1 1.36 14.83 20.73 49.4482.29Chandigarh – 17.32 34.71 45.16 58.6978.85Himachal Pradesh 0.33 0.73 22.68 42.73 87.49213.66Chhattisgarh – 128.86 231.35 252.48 948.821,398.50Dadra and Nagar Haveli – 2.97 5.465.46 5.465.46Goa – 0.713.817.44 26.4957.64Daman and Diu – 10.46 14.47 40.55 41.0142.66Tamil Nadu 1,590.97 1,691.832,575.224,475.21 6,736.4310,309.77Andhra Pradesh 979.65 1,867.233,085.684,203.00 4,534.195,406.90Telangana 973.41 1,286.983,592.093,953.12 4,666.034,842.10Kerala – 88.20161.057257.00 761.441,591.04Karnataka 327.53 1,027.846,095.567,355.17 8,241.419,690.13Puducherry - 0.083.149.33 35.5367.51Bihar 95.91 108.52142.45159.51 192.89328.34Odisha 77.64 79.42394.73401.72 453.17629.34Jharkhand 17.51 23.2734.9552.06 105.84199.87West Bengal 23.07 26.1475.95149.84 179.98320.62Sikkim 0.01 0.00 0.010.07 4.687.56Assam 11.18 11.78 22.40 42.99 147.92212.34Tripura 5.02 5.095.09 9.41 17.6021.24Arunachal Pradesh 0.27 0.275.39 5.61 11.6414.85Mizoram 0.10 0.10 0.50 1.53 28.0130.39Manipur 0.01 0.03 3.44 6.36 12.2813.79Meghalaya 0.01 0.01 0.12 0.12 4.154.28Nagaland 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00 3.043.17Andaman and Nicobar 5.10 6.5611.7329.22 29.9129.91Lakshadweep 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 3.274.97Others 58.31 58.31 0.00 0.0045.0145.01 Total India (MW) 6,762.85 12,288.83 28,180.66 40,085.37 66,780.36107,945.61
Andhra Pradesh
The installed photovoltaic capacity in Andhra Pradesh was 4257 MW as of 30 September 2022. The state is planning to add 10,050 MW solar power capacity to provide power supply to the farming sector during the day time. The state has also offered five Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects with a total capacity of 12,200 MW to developers under renewable power export policy outside the state. Andhra Pradesh is endowed with abundant pumped hydroelectric energy storage to make available solar power in to round the clock power supply for meeting its ultimate energy needs. The state is planning to construct 33,000 MW pumped storage projects to mitigate the intermittency associated with renewable energy.
In 2015, NTPC agreed with APTransCo to install the 250-MW NP Kunta Ultra Mega Solar Power Project near Kadiri in Anantapur district. In October 2017, 1000 MW was commissioned at Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park which has become the world's largest solar power plant at that time. In August 2018, Greater Visakhapatnam commissioned a 2 MW Mudasarlova Reservoir grid-connected floating solar project which is the largest operational floating solar PV project in India. NTPC Simhadri has awarded BHEL to install a 25 MW floating solar PV plant on its water supply reservoir. APGENCO commissioned 400 MW Ananthapuram – II solar park located at Talaricheruvu village near Tadipatri.
Delhi Delhi, the capital and a city state in India, has limitation in installing ground based solar power plants. However, it is leading in rooftop solar powered plants installations by adopting a fully flexible net metering system. The installed solar power capacity was 211 MW as on 30 June 2022. The Delhi government announced that the Rajghat thermal power plant will be officially shut at the 45 acre plant site and turned into a 5 MW solar power PV plant.
Gujarat
Gujarat is one of India's most solar-developed states, with its total installed solar power generation capacity reaching 7,806 MW as of 30 June 2022.