India will definitely achieve solar power capacity target: Piyush Goyal

India will definitely achieve the target for enhancing solar power capacity and add 10,500 megawatts (MW) in the current fiscal, New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

India has set an ambitious target of adding one lakh megawatts (MW) of solar power generation capacity by 2022 which is five times more than the earlier target of 20,000 MW under National Solar Mission.

"The way things are progressing in solar energy sector. We will definitely achieve our target. Solar energy is economically viable," Goyal said at an event in New Delhi.

Some experts and consultancies have expressed apprehension about huge targets of solar power capacity addition during the current fiscal.

"Our estimates show that unless challenges like transmission and financing are addressed urgently, the industry will miss the targets by big margins," Bridge To India Managing Director Vinay Rustagi said.

However, consulting firm Bridge To India said in its latest edition of India Solar Handbook report released earlier this month that "India is poised to become the fourth largest solar market in 2016, leaving behind three major European solar markets (UK, Germany, and France) with expected new capacity addition of 5.4 gigawatts (GW) in 2016."

The minister said, "A target of adding 10,500 MW solar power has been set for this fiscal. It is four to five time more than last year (target of 2000 MW). For achieving this target we have already floated tenders for 21,000 MW solar power projects during last fiscal. With 21,000 MW of new solar projects out in the market, India has signalled to the world that we're ready to lead."

He added, "The preliminary studies have found that there is a potential of 7.5 Lakh MW solar energy in the country which is a big target. India will achieve this target.

"When our government came in 2014, the target was to add 20,000 MW solar power generation capacity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi increased that target by five-times to one lakh MW."

The minister also said that India has exceeded solar targets by 116% this year in comparison to last year and already had awarded solar projects of 11,000 MW.