Bifacial modules now 78% of utility-scale tender awards in India
Bifacial module share in Indian SECI utility-scale tender awards crossed 78% in Q1 2026, up from 62% in Q1 2025. Falling per-watt price premiums (now under ₹0.5/W) and improved tracker compatibility have shifted developer math decisively toward bifacial.
In 50 words: Bifacial modules now dominate Indian utility-scale solar tender awards at 78% market share — up from 62% one year ago. Compressed per-watt price premiums and standardised single-axis tracker pairings are the drivers. Mono-facial PERC is now firmly relegated to rooftop and small commercial.
The numbers
Of 6.8 GW awarded under SECI utility-scale auctions in Q1 2026, 5.3 GW (78%) specified bifacial modules. State-level Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Gujarat tenders show similar ratios.
Why now
Two compressions made this inevitable:
- Price compression. Bifacial per-watt premium dropped from ₹1.20/W in early 2024 to under ₹0.50/W by Q1 2026 as production scaled.
- Yield compression. Real-world bifacial gain stabilised at 8–12% on properly designed single-axis tracker installations, down from the optimistic 15–20% claimed in 2022 but high enough to clearly justify the price premium.
What it means for buyers
Mono-facial PERC is now firmly a rooftop and small-commercial product in India. New utility-scale projects under construction in 2026–2027 should default to bifacial with tracker pairing — the LCOE math no longer supports mono-facial at this scale.
What to watch next
The next shift is bifacial + back-contact. With back-contact cells crossing 26.5% mass-production efficiency, bifacial back-contact modules could repeat the same price-compression curve over 2026–2028.
Researched and drafted with AI assistance; reviewed and edited by the named editor within 24 hours of draft.