New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS): The country added 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar open access capacity in the first half of this year, a massive 153 per cent increase compared to the 1.4 GW installed in the same period last year, a report showed on Thursday.

The capacity added in the first half of 2024 surpassed the total annual installations of all prior years, according to the report by Mercom India.

In the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, India added nearly 1.8 GW of solar open access capacity. Installations in Q2 were up 152 per cent (year-over-year) compared to 712.8 megawatts (MW) in Q2 2023.

Adani Green was the leading seller in the Green Day-Ahead Market (G-DAM), accounting for more than 29 per cent of electricity sold. As of June, the pipeline of solar open access projects was almost 23 GW.

"The demand for open access solar from industries and commercial units has been consistently increasing. Challenges in transmission infrastructure availability, supply chain issues due to ALMM, and lack of uniformity in state regulations are holding back the open access market from exponential growth.

Developers are increasing the share of wind-solar hybrid power projects to utilise the existing evacuation infrastructure, and more states are now issuing the green energy open access regulations," said Priya Sanjay, Managing Director at Mercom India.

Developers are increasing the share of wind-solar hybrid power projects to utilise the existing evacuation infrastructure, and more states are now issuing the green energy open access regulations, Sanjay added.

In Q2 2024, Karnataka led solar open access capacity additions, accounting for over 40 per cent of installations. The top five states accounted for over 85 per cent of installations in Q2 2024, said the report.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu ranked second and third, accounting for almost 14 per cent and 11 per cent of cumulative installations in 1H 2024.

Cumulative installed solar open access capacity stood at 16.3 GW (as of June), said the report.