Solar in India in 2026: The Numbers, Tamil Nadu's Rank, and What They Mean for a Rooftop

Published October 25, 2025 · Updated October 6, 2026 · Reviewed by Karthikeyan E

Most pages about the future of solar in India are opinion. This one is numbers, each with the date it was published and the office that published it. At the end there is a short section on what the numbers mean if you are deciding on a rooftop system, because that is the only part a homeowner can act on.

The short answer

Figure	Value	As on	Source
Solar capacity in India	168 GW	31 August 2026	MNRE
Of which rooftop (grid-connected)	32.6 GW	31 August 2026	MNRE
Homes with PM Surya Ghar rooftop systems	50 lakh	August 2026	MNRE
Tamil Nadu's rank among states	4th, 13.9 GW	31 July 2026	MNRE
Power capacity from non-fossil sources	50.1%	30 June 2025	Government of India
Panel-making capacity on the approved list	228 GW	September 2026	MNRE ALMM

From 2.8 GW to 168 GW in twelve years

When	Installed solar	Note
2014	2.82 GW	Starting point of the national solar push
31 January 2025	100.33 GW	First 100 GW; 24.5 GW had been added in calendar 2024
FY 2025-26	About 44 to 45 GW added	Record year, per industry trackers
1 April to 31 August 2026	17.8 GW added	First five months of FY 2026-27
31 August 2026	168.04 GW	Ground-mounted 124, rooftop 32.6, hybrid 4.8, off-grid 6.6

The pace has not been even. It took eleven years to reach the first 100 GW and about nineteen months to add the next 68. The 2025-26 financial year alone added more than the whole country had in 2020.

Where rooftop stands

Grid-connected rooftop systems made up 32.6 GW of the 168 GW in August 2026, about one fifth. The growth in that slice comes from PM Surya Ghar. By 20 July 2026 the scheme had 39.38 lakh installations adding up to 14.07 GW, with Rs 27,323 crore paid out as central assistance. In August 2026 the count of households crossed 50 lakh. The ministry's target is 75 lakh households by December 2026, and May 2026 showed what a peak month looks like: 3.16 lakh installations in thirty-one days.

What the scheme pays, and what it leaves you to pay, is on our rooftop subsidy page.

Where Tamil Nadu stands

Rank	State	Installed solar, 31 July 2026
1	Rajasthan	42.1 GW
2	Gujarat	32.3 GW
3	Maharashtra	20.2 GW
4	Tamil Nadu	13.9 GW
5	Karnataka	11.3 GW

Tamil Nadu's 13.9 GW is mostly ground-mounted plants in the south of the state. For a home in Coimbatore, the rank matters less than two local rules. Domestic consumers get net metering with one-for-one set-off, which makes every daytime unit worth the full tariff. And since May 2026 homes using up to 500 units in two months get 200 of them free, which changes who benefits from panels and who does not. The slab rates and the free units are on their own page.

The targets

India's climate pledge was half of all power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030. That line was crossed on 30 June 2025, when non-fossil capacity reached 242.78 GW out of 484.82 GW, or 50.1%. The larger goal is 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030. Solar is the biggest single contributor, and at 2025-26 rates of addition the gap closes in about four years.

Panels made in India

In 2014 India could make about 2 GW of panels a year. By September 2026 the approved list of module makers, ALMM List-I, carried over 228 GW of capacity, and the cell list, List-II, 35.5 GW. This is why the subsidy rules can insist on Indian panels made with Indian cells: there is now enough supply. For a buyer it means the panel on your quote should be on that list, or the subsidy will not be paid. How the rule works is in our note on government measures that affect a rooftop decision.

What the numbers mean for a rooftop buyer

More installers are entering every month, and so are complaints. Check that the company is on the PM Surya Ghar empanelled list for Tamil Nadu before you pay anything.
Panel prices have fallen and the GST on solar goods dropped to 5% in September 2025. A quote from two years ago is not a guide to today's price.
The queue is at the net-meter stage, not the installation. Record months like May 2026 mean TNPDCL section offices are handling more applications than before. Apply early and keep the documents ready.
Quotas run out. The Tamil Nadu top-up is for the first 1,00,000 households. When a scheme is this popular, waiting costs money.
Growth numbers do not change the maths for your home. If you use under 200 units in two months, the free units already make your bill zero and panels will not lower it.

The money side, slab by slab, is in what a rooftop system saves and how the bill drops after installation. What to check before the crew arrives is in our site-preparation tips, and the difference between a home and a shop system is in solar for homes and businesses. For what the subsidy covers and what it misses, see affordable solar with government subsidies.

Questions people ask

Is most of India's solar on rooftops?

No. Of the 168 GW installed by August 2026, about 124 GW is ground-mounted and 32.6 GW is grid-connected rooftop, roughly one fifth. Rooftop is the fastest-growing part because of PM Surya Ghar, but utility-scale plants still make up the bulk.

Will prices keep falling?

Nobody can promise that. What is on record is that the tax on solar goods fell from 12% to 5% in September 2025 and that India's panel-making capacity has grown to over 228 GW on the approved list, which keeps supply up. Our prices are revised when costs move, not on a schedule.

Does Tamil Nadu's rank matter to a homeowner?

Only indirectly. A large installed base means TNPDCL has mature net-metering procedures and many trained installers. It does not change your subsidy, your tariff or your yield, which depend on the rules in force and your own roof.

Where do these numbers come from?

All capacity figures are from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's physical progress page and state-wise table, with the date shown next to each. Scheme figures are from MNRE releases. Every source is linked at the end.

Sources and disclaimer

MNRE, Physical progress of renewable energy, as on 31 August 2026. Cumulative and FY 2026-27 figures.
pv magazine India: India hits 100 GW of installed solar power capacity, 7 February 2025. The 2014 and January 2025 figures, from the MNRE release.
JMK Research: India installs record 44 GW solar and 6 GW wind capacity in FY2026
Omnicore: MNRE state-wise installed capacity of renewable power as on 31 July 2026. State ranking.
Deccan Herald: PM Surya Ghar scheme crosses 50 lakh household milestone
Energetica India: PM Surya Ghar crosses 39.38 lakh installations, capacity reaches 14.07 GW. Figures as on 20 July 2026.
Energetica India: ALMM update, solar module capacity surpasses 228 GW in September 2026
Mongabay India: India achieves 50% non-fossil power capacity five years ahead of target

Figures were checked against these sources on 6 October 2026. MNRE updates its progress page every month, so the totals will be higher by the time you read this. RK Solar Solutions is an installer, not a government agency.

Want to know what the numbers mean for your own roof? Send us your last two EB bills and we will reply with the size, the net price and the payback in writing.