PVTIME – According to analysis from JMK Research, India’s renewable energy sector delivered substantial capacity growth in the first half of 2026. Over the six-month period, the country added 26GW of solar photovoltaic capacity and 3GW of wind capacity. Solar installations in the first half of 2026 equated to almost 70% of India’s total solar deployment in 2025, marking a 43% year-on-year increase. In contrast, wind capacity additions recorded a 16% year-on-year decline in the same timeframe.
Data issued by India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy confirms that the nation’s cumulative renewable energy capacity reached 288GW by June 2026. Solar power constitutes the largest share of the renewable energy mix at 56%, followed by wind power at 20%, large hydropower at 18%, biomass power at 4%, and small hydropower at 2%. Utility-scale solar capacity expanded by 19GW in the first half of 2026, marking a 32% year-on-year increase.
The rooftop solar segment delivered exceptional growth, with new capacity reaching 6.4GW, marking a year-on-year increase of 104%. JMK Research attributes this rapid market expansion to the government’s flagship PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana programme, which underpins the majority of new rooftop solar developments. There was also minor growth in distributed and off-grid solar assets, with capacity rising by 3% year on year to reach 842.9MW in the first half of 2026.
Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu were the top three Indian states for new solar deployments in the first half of 2026. Gujarat led the way with 7.6GW of installations, accounting for 29% of the total new solar capacity added nationwide. Rajasthan followed with 6.6GW (25%), while Tamil Nadu contributed 2.4GW (9%).
Strong deployment in the early part of the year has led JMK Research to forecast the addition of 47GW of combined solar and wind capacity in India by 2026. Continued market growth in the second half of the year will support the country’s strategic goal of installing 500GW of non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030.
JMK Research’s Q1 2026 solar installation data, published in May, records 14.2GW of new commissioned capacity, marking a 95% increase on the previous quarter. This total includes 12.12GW of utility-scale solar and 2.14GW of rooftop solar. In an earlier full-year forecast, the firm projected 42.5GW of total solar capacity additions for 2026, comprising 32.5GW of utility-scale capacity, 8.5GW of rooftop capacity, and 1.5GW of off-grid capacity. Official records show that 6.2GW of utility-scale solar was deployed across India in Q4 of 2025.
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