India installs record 36.6 GW solar in 2025, 81% of the total solar capacity additions from Large projects
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India’s annual solar installations crossed the 30 GW mark, highest ever, with 36.6 GW added in 2025. Installations in 2025 rose nearly 43% year over year from 25.6 GW in 2024, according to Mercom India’s newly released Q4 and Annual 2025 India Solar Market Update.
PV Magazine covering the Mercom report said large-scale solar projects, including open access (off-site commercial and industrial) installations, accounted for nearly 81% of total additions, while rooftop solar contributed 19%.
In 2025, 29.5 GW of large-scale solar capacity was installed, a 31% increase from 22.5 GW in 2024. Open access projects represented 26% of large-scale additions.
Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra led large-scale solar installations in 2025, accounting for around 34%, 28%, and 15% of the capacity additions, respectively.
World’s first 628 Ah grid-scale battery enters operation
China’s EVE Energy began operations at the world’s first 100 MWh-class battery energy storage facility using 628 Ah ultra-large battery cells, PV Magazine reported. The 200 MW/400 MWh Ruite New Energy Lingshou project features 80 Mr. Giant energy storage systems and 40 integrated converter cabins. Its cell design incorporates an innovative stacking process and high-toughness separators, enhancing safety while optimizing the levelized cost of storage (LCOS).
Mass production of these large-capacity cells began in December 2024, making EVE Energy the first manufacturer to make LFP battery cells exceeding 600 Ah for stationary storage. Cumulative production has now surpassed one million cells, the report said.
India adds 3GW of solar cell capacity to ALMM List-II, reaching 26GW
Centre has released the fourth revision of its Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) II for solar cells, increasing the total enlisted manufacturing capacity to 26GW, PV Tech reported.
The new increase has added just over 3GW of new eligible cell manufacturing capacity. The policy aims to incentivise domestic manufacturing across all segments of solar production. The updated list features domestic manufacturers such as Premier Energies and Adani Group, both of which have secured approvals for additional cell models. Evervolt Solar Technology marks a fresh entry in the latest revision, expanding the roster of India-based cell producers under the programme.
Bengaluru headquartered Evervolt, a subsidiary of Evervolt Green Energy, has been included in the updated list with 1,074MW of cell manufacturing capacity. The company operates a facility in Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, producing bifacial monocrystalline passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) cells in a 182.2mm × 182.2mm format with a 10-busbar configuration.
The approved model, EVT-M10-BR-PERC, delivers an average conversion efficiency of 23.10% and a nominal power output of 7.66W per cell. Efficiency spans 22% to 23.50%, with output ranging between 7.26W and 7.75W
Global electricity demand set to surge through 2030 as data centres, EVs and cooling drive new ‘Age of Electricity’: IEA
Global electricity demand is expected to grow at its fastest sustained pace in decades through 2030, driven by accelerating electrification of industry and transport, rapid expansion of data centres, and rising demand for cooling, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s latest outlook.
DTE reported that the IEA forecasts global power demand to rise at an average annual rate of 3.6% between 2026 and 2030, adding roughly 1,100 terawatt-hours (TWh) every year, about 50% more than the average annual additions recorded over the past decade. Global electricity consumption is expected to reach 33,600 TWh by 2030, up from 28,200 TWh in 2025.
The report said that developing economies are expected to account for nearly 80% of additional electricity demand through 2030, with China remaining the single largest contributor. China alone is forecast to add about 2,600 TWh of electricity demand by 2030, roughly equivalent to the European Union’s current total consumption. In India cooling demand and peak loads reshape power needs, the report pointed out.
India’s electricity demand is projected to grow at an average 6.4 per cent per year through 2030, among the fastest rates globally, driven by cooling, industry and the continued electrification of agriculture and transport, the IEA said.
China to add 180-240GW of new solar PV capacity in 2026, down from 315GW in 2025
China expects to add 180-240GW of new solar PV capacity in 2026, around one-third of the 500-667GW of capacity that is forecast to be added globally this year, PV tech reported adding that it is the main takeaway from the latest report published by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), released last week to cover the next five years of the Chinese solar sector, which will coincide with the 15th Five-Year Plan period of the Chinese government, from 2026 to 2030. Over this period, the CPIA expects China to add an average of 238-287GW of new capacity each year, the outlet wrote.
US government withdraws defense of solar tariff pause
The Trump administration has pulled its support for the executive order that enabled solar components from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam to enter the United States duty-free. PV Magazine reported that total duty exposure for the industry is estimated to be between $50 billion and $70 billion for the approximately 88 GW of solar capacity imported during the moratorium period, according to the Coalition for a Prosperous America. The outlet said the government is effectively stepping away from the “bridge” policy it created to keep the solar market moving during a period of extreme supply chain volatility.
The move follows a court decision that the administration lacked the authority to waive these trade penalties, a ruling that has now left the industry exposed to significant financial risk. With the government no longer defending the policy, the legal and financial burden has shifted entirely to the private sector, the report said.