ICRA estimates lower solar capacity additions in 2020-21

With the Covid-19 pandemic impacting the supply chain as well as the execution of projects, rating agency ICRA expects solar capacity addition in 2020-21 to be 15 per cent lower. It expects only 5.5 GW of new capacity to come up in 2020-21. Lockdown restrictions still exist in many states and labour unavailability has become a critical issue, adding to the woes of developers. They are already suffering from challenges like delays in land acquisition, receipt of evacuation approvals, tariff adoption and financial closure. All of these factors are likely to significantly impact new capacity additions.