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India Solar Installations Set to Install Record 50 GW in 2026 Despite Cell Supply Constraints

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India is on its way to a record year of solar installations in 2026 of 50 gigawatts-direct current, even as constraints in domestic cell manufacturing are pushing prices higher as new local-content requirements reshape the country's supply chain, according to a report by Wood Mackenzie.

The country added 34 GWdc of solar capacity in the first half of the year, up 38% year-over-year, as developers rushed to complete projects ahead of the June deadline for the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers-II, or ALMM-II, mandate.

For the full year, new capacity additions are expected to surge past 50 GWdc, topping the previous record of 49 GWdc set in 2025, according to the report.

"India's ALMM-II mandate is a bold step toward building a fully integrated domestic solar supply chain, but cell manufacturing capacity has simply not kept pace with modules," Wood Mackenzie Research Analyst Sureet Singh said.

These mandates require government-supported projects to use modules produced from domestically manufactured cells, and is credited for the surge in installations during the first-half of this year, as developers sought to get ahead of its implementation.

Wood Mackenzie analysts, however, noted that solar cell supply constraints, which are expected to last into 2027, could deepen India's reliance on imports and drive prices above current estimates.

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