Supported by subsidies, tax incentives and green financing, India added 37.5 GW of new capacity in 2025, a year-on-year increase of around 50 percent. With a further 45 to 50 GW targeted for 2026, the country is on track to become the world’s second-largest solar market, expanding at both speed and scale.
Global PV manufacturing equipment investment set to surge
This pace of deployment indicates a longer-term shift. In a fast-growing economy with rising electricity demand, solar is moving to the centre of energy planning and is expected to account for 280 GW within a 500 GW renewables expansion plan by 2030. At the same time, costs remain a decisive driver: solar generation costs have fallen by around 80 percent since 2010, making PV the most competitive option for new power installations.
Policy support drives acceleration
Backed by targeted industrial policy, the country is investing heavily in domestic manufacturing, particularly in high-efficiency n-type technologies such as TOPCon and HJT. Module production is expected to increase sixfold by 2030, signalling a shift from import reliance towards export capability.
“India is both a major sales market and an attractive partner for expanding production capacity in the solar and storage industries,” says David Wedepohl, Managing Director International Affairs at the German Solar Association, highlighting its relevance for both project development and industrial collaboration.
Agrivoltaics World Conference – submit abstracts for October event in Delhi
The EU–India free trade agreement adds further impetus. As cooperation deepens, European equipment suppliers are preparing to play a more central role in enabling high-quality manufacturing. “Along the entire PV value chain – from modules and cells to wafers, ingots and polysilicon – India is growing to become one of the most dynamic producers in the world,” adds Dr. Puzant Baliozian, Sector Group Leader Photovoltaics Equipment at VDMA, pointing to European machinery as the technological backbone for stable, high-precision manufacturing processes.
New formats gain ground
As the market grows, attention is also turning to new formats, including agrivoltaics and floating PV. In an article for Energyworld, Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, CEO of the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI), writes: “Agricultural PV offers a compelling dual advantage: enhancing both energy and food security while adding generation capacity closer to the tail-end of the grid, thereby improving its strength and efficiency. A dedicated National Mission for Floating Solar would be instrumental in unlocking India’s immense potential for gigawatt-scale deployment on reservoirs and water bodies, transforming unused spaces into engines of clean energy growth.”
Sector growth outpaces job creation in global renewables
As ever, challenges remain. In a country of continental scale and more than a billion people, structural change takes time. Grid infrastructure, storage deployment and workforce development must keep pace with installation growth, while regulatory complexity across India’s states requires careful navigation, particularly for international investors.
Nevertheless, the direction is clear. India’s solar expansion is evolving from installation scale to a wider industrial transformation, a shift that is likely to redefine the picture of international supply chains and industrial partnerships. (TF)
India’s solar trajectory and industrial shift will form part of the wider discussion at Intersolar Europe, 23–25 June 2026, at Messe München.
For more information and the full programme, visit www.intersolar.de and www.TheSmarterE.de.
