Indian Solar EPCs Go Global: 2026 Rankings

Last updated August 3, 2026 (Originally published July 25, 2026)

July 6: MNRE updates ALMM List-I, bringing enlisted Indian solar module manufacturing capacity to 204.4 GW, up from the 193 GW figure cited in the original analysis.
July 2026: RenewAtlas and Wiki-Solar publish H1 2026 EPC league tables, showing Larsen & Toubro rising to second globally among solar EPC contractors by combined operational and pipeline capacity.
January 2026: Saudi Arabia's SPPC announces the qualified bidder list for its most recent 5.3 GW NREP round; no Indian firm appears among the primary developers, consistent with Indian EPCs winning this work as subcontractors rather than direct bidders.

Quick Answer

1. What happened?
   RenewAtlas and Wiki-Solar's H1 2026 rankings show Larsen & Toubro is now the world's second-largest solar EPC contractor by combined capacity, behind only SOLV Energy.
2. Is this a broad Indian industry trend?
   No, currently concentrated in two firms, L&T and Sterling & Wilson. Other major Indian solar names show far more activity in domestic manufacturing than international EPC execution.
3. Where is this capacity being built?
   Primarily Saudi Arabia for L&T, and the wider Gulf, Australia, and Africa for Sterling & Wilson.
4. Are Indian EPCs winning these contracts directly from governments?
   No. They're winning execution contracts from the international developers who win the actual government tenders, positioned as subcontractors, not competing bidders.
5. What should smaller Indian EPCs take from this?
   Domestic senior execution talent is getting pulled toward international projects, and international-adjacent credibility is becoming a real differentiator, even for firms with no near-term export ambitions.

Why This Matters for EPCs

This isn't just an interesting data point about two large companies, it's a signal about where the Indian solar execution market is heading structurally. When your industry's largest domestic players start committing senior execution capacity to gigawatt-scale international work, that changes the competitive landscape for everyone else, not just the two firms doing it. Mid-size EPCs may see thinner competition at the very top of large domestic tenders, and international execution experience, even secondhand through subcontracting, is becoming a credibility marker that developers and financiers are starting to notice on domestic bids too.

The Real Ranking: L&T Is Now Second Globally

RenewAtlas and Wiki-Solar, the database that has tracked solar EPC, O&M, development, and ownership companies globally for years, published its H1 2026 league tables in July, ranking companies by operational utility-scale solar PV capacity and the size of their project pipelines under development.

The headline: SOLV Energy remains the global leader, with 17.4 GW of operational EPC capacity and 19.7 GW of operational O&M capacity, both the top figures in their respective categories. But the real story is who's behind it: Larsen & Toubro now ranks second globally among EPC companies by combined operational and pipeline capacity.

That's a genuinely notable position for an Indian contractor to hold on a global ranking, and per RenewAtlas's own analysis, it's not primarily a domestic-market story.

One caveat worth stating plainly: the specific #2 ranking figure comes from a PV Tech Premium report behind a subscription paywall. The surrounding data points in that same report, SOLV Energy's exact capacity figures, are independently verifiable and check out precisely, which gives reasonable confidence in the rest of the reporting, but the single ranking claim itself hasn't been cross-confirmed against a second independent source.

What L&T's Own Numbers Show

L&T's own 2025 Annual Review gives useful context for why this ranking shift is plausible, not just a single data provider's claim. The company reports 25.2 GWp of solar PV EPC delivery, including 444 MWp of floating solar, alongside a newly established wind vertical, active PV and BESS integration projects aimed at delivering 24x7 power, and early engagement on interconnector, data center, and green hydrogen projects across India, the Middle East, Africa, SAARC, ASEAN, and CIS regions.

That's a company that has deliberately built beyond single-technology solar EPC work into a broader renewables and storage execution capability, precisely the kind of vertically integrated capacity that positions a firm to win large, complex international contracts rather than compete purely on price for standalone solar builds.

The Middle East Is Doing a Lot of the Work

"The leading Indian contractors have also become major exporters," per RenewAtlas's analysis of the data. "Larsen & Toubro, our biggest capacity adder, has built more in Saudi Arabia (around 4GW) than at home, and Sterling & Wilson works across the Gulf, Australia and Africa."

That's worth sitting with. India's largest solar EPC exporter has built more capacity in a single foreign market than in its home market. This isn't a case of an Indian company dabbling internationally while staying primarily domestic, for L&T specifically, international execution, concentrated in Saudi Arabia, now represents the larger share of its build-out.

Sterling & Wilson's footprint is broader still: active across the Gulf states, Australia, and Africa, alongside its long-standing Indian operations. For this article, keep the focus on verified recent international activity and avoid relying on older project-profile sources unless the specific project capacity, role, and commissioning context are confirmed through a stronger source.

Why Saudi Arabia Specifically Has This Much EPC Work to Give

The scale of Saudi Arabia's build-out explains why L&T's roughly 4 GW there has been achievable in the first place. The Kingdom's National Renewable Energy Programme, managed by the Saudi Power Procurement Company, is targeting up to 130 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, and annual capacity additions are projected to accelerate sharply, from around 2 GW a year in 2024-2025, to roughly 6.5 GW in 2026 alone, ramping toward nearly 19 GW a year by 2030. The 2026 pipeline alone includes approximately 14 GW of new project awards across Round 7 and parallel procurement tracks. That's simply more utility-scale EPC execution work than Saudi Arabia's domestic construction capacity can absorb on its own, which is precisely the gap international EPCs, Indian firms included, are stepping into.

An Important Nuance: Subcontractor, Not Bidder

Worth being precise about how Indian EPCs are actually winning this work. Saudi Arabia's NREP tenders are run directly by SPPC, and the qualified bidder list for the most recent round (5.3 GW, announced January 2026) named developers like Masdar, Alfanar, EDF Power Solutions, Engie, TotalEnergies Renewables, Jinko Power, and Marubeni, no Indian firm among them. That's not a contradiction of the RenewAtlas data; it reflects how the market is actually structured. Indian EPCs like L&T aren't bidding as IPP developers into SPPC's own tender process; they're winning EPC execution contracts from the developers who do win those tenders. L&T's own confirmed 2024 deal, worth $1 billion to $1.7 billion, was explicitly with "a leading developer" in the region, not a direct government award.

This matters for how to read the trend accurately: Indian EPCs are becoming the execution arm of choice for Gulf IPP developers, not competitors to them. That's a meaningfully different, and arguably more durable, market position, since it depends on execution reputation rather than on winning capital-intensive development tenders directly.

Is This a Broad Indian Industry Trend, or Concentrated in a Few Firms?

Worth being honest about the current scope. The Gulf expansion story documented in RenewAtlas's data centers specifically on Larsen & Toubro and Sterling & Wilson. Other major Indian solar names, Waaree, Adani Solar, Tata Power Solar, currently show far more public activity around domestic manufacturing capacity and module supply than around winning international EPC execution contracts of comparable scale. That doesn't rule out similar moves from these firms, Adani Green has stated ambitions to reach 45 GW of renewable capacity by 2030 with an increasingly international profile, but as of this update, the specific global EPC ranking shift RenewAtlas documented is a story about two firms' execution track records, not yet a broad industry-wide movement.

What's Driving This, Beyond Company-Level Ambition

Domestic capacity is now genuinely strong. ALMM-listed module capacity in India reached 204.4 GW as of MNRE's July 6, 2026 update, giving Indian manufacturers and EPCs substantially more module capacity than current annual domestic demand requires. That surplus capacity, combined with a maturing execution track record built on large domestic tenders, gives Indian EPCs a credible basis to compete for large international contracts rather than just domestic ones.

The numbers back up the trend, not just the anecdote. RenewAtlas's data shows capacity under development by EPC firms globally increased 18% year-over-year, and Indian firms are specifically the fastest-growing builders outside of China. That's a meaningfully different framing than "an Indian company won a big contract", it's a structural shift in where global solar EPC capacity growth is concentrated.

Domestic manufacturing and compliance capacity are raising the execution bar. India's ALMM framework and broader manufacturing buildout are pushing EPCs to work with more structured sourcing, documentation, and compliance processes. That does not automatically create overseas EPC wins, but it can strengthen the operational discipline required for larger international bids.

What This Means for Indian EPCs Not Yet Competing Internationally

Most Indian solar EPCs are not L&T or Sterling & Wilson, and most aren't bidding on gigawatt-scale Gulf projects. But the trend still matters for mid-size firms:

• Domestic competition for large-scale talent and subcontracting capacity is tightening. As the largest Indian EPCs commit more senior execution capacity to international projects, domestic large-scale tenders may see less bidding depth from the very top tier, a potential opening for strong mid-size domestic players.
• International credibility is becoming a genuine differentiator. A track record that includes complex international execution, even as a subcontractor to a firm like L&T or Sterling & Wilson on a Gulf project, is a credibility signal that's increasingly recognizable to Indian developers and financiers evaluating domestic bids too.
• Watch which markets are actually open. Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf region are where Indian capacity is concentrating right now; that's useful market intelligence even for firms with no near-term international ambitions, since it signals where Indian solar supply chains and execution talent are being pulled toward.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Don't present this as an industry-wide Indian export boom. It's currently concentrated in two firms, L&T and Sterling & Wilson, not a trend every Indian EPC is participating in.
• Don't describe Indian EPCs as winning Saudi government tenders directly. They're winning execution subcontracts from the international developers who win those tenders, a materially different, and more accessible, market position.
• Don't treat the H1 2026 ranking as a fixed, permanent position. RenewAtlas and Wiki-Solar publish updated league tables on a regular cycle; H2 2026 data will supersede this specific ranking later in the year.
• Don't cite the 193 GW ALMM module capacity figure going forward. MNRE's July 6, 2026 update brought it to 204.4 GW, and the figure is revised frequently enough that it should be reconfirmed before quoting in a new context.

How This Fits Into a Reslink Workflow

The credibility that wins a subcontracting slot on a Gulf gigawatt-scale project doesn't start on that project, it starts with the documentation discipline an EPC builds on every job, including the smallest ones. A firm that can't produce a bankable, audit-ready proposal and design package on a 50 kW rooftop project isn't building the track record that gets noticed for a 500 MW international contract. The same design accuracy, compliance documentation, and BOM precision that wins domestic trust is the foundation international developers are actually evaluating when they're choosing an execution subcontractor.

See how Reslink helps EPCs build that documentation discipline into every project, not just the large ones → Book a demo

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Which Indian solar EPC company is now ranked highest globally?

Larsen & Toubro, ranked second globally among EPC companies by combined operational and pipeline capacity in RenewAtlas and Wiki-Solar's H1 2026 rankings, behind only SOLV Energy.

Q2. Does L&T build more solar capacity in India or internationally

Internationally, specifically in Saudi Arabia. Per RenewAtlas's analysis, L&T has built approximately 4 GW of solar capacity in Saudi Arabia, more than it has built domestically in India.

Q3. Which international markets are Indian solar EPCs most active in?

The Gulf region is the primary market in the available ranking data, led by Saudi Arabia for L&T specifically. Sterling & Wilson is also described as active across the Gulf, Australia, and Africa, but project-level claims should be tied to verified company or project-owner sources before publication.

Q4. Are Indian solar EPCs actually growing faster than other countries' firms

Yes, per RenewAtlas's data. EPC capacity under development globally grew 18% year-over-year, and Indian firms are specifically identified as the fastest-growing builders outside of China.

Q5. Why are Indian solar EPCs able to compete for large international contracts now?

A combination of factors: domestic module manufacturing capacity, 204.4 GW as of MNRE's July 2026 update, now substantially exceeds annual domestic demand, giving firms surplus capacity to deploy elsewhere, and a maturing execution track record built on large domestic utility-scale tenders gives Indian EPCs credibility for complex international bids.

Q6. Are Indian EPCs winning Saudi projects directly from the government, or through developers?

Through developers. Saudi Arabia's NREP tenders are run by the Saudi Power Procurement Company, and the most recent qualified bidder list didn't include any Indian firms as primary developers. Indian EPCs like L&T are winning execution contracts from the international developers who do win those tenders, positioning them as the execution arm of choice rather than as competing bidders.

Q7. Is the Gulf expansion trend true across the Indian solar industry, or just a few companies?

Currently concentrated in a small number of firms, specifically Larsen & Toubro and Sterling & Wilson, per the available data. Other major Indian solar companies, including Waaree, Adani Solar, and Tata Power Solar, show significantly more public activity in domestic manufacturing than in comparable international EPC execution, though some have stated broader international ambitions.

Q8. Will this ranking change again soon?

Almost certainly, in the normal course of RenewAtlas and Wiki-Solar's regular publishing cycle. This is the H1 2026 snapshot; an H2 2026 update is expected later in the year and will reflect any shifts since. Treat rankings like this as a point-in-time signal of direction, not a fixed, permanent position.

Q9. Does L&T's international work affect its ability to serve domestic Indian clients?

Not directly addressed in the available data, but worth watching. As the largest Indian EPCs commit more senior execution capacity to gigawatt-scale international projects, domestic clients and mid-size competitors alike should watch whether bidding depth or turnaround time on large domestic tenders shifts as a result.

Sources

• PV Tech / RenewAtlas / Wiki-Solar — source for the H1 2026 EPC ranking, L&T's reported #2 global EPC position, the Saudi Arabia capacity comparison, Sterling & Wilson's international footprint, and the 18% year-over-year EPC capacity-under-development figure. Note: parts of the league-table data are behind a subscription paywall, so exact ranking claims should be attributed to PV Tech / RenewAtlas / Wiki-Solar rather than framed as independently verified by Reslink.
• L&T Annual Review 2025, Renewable EPC Projects section, confirms L&T's 25.2 GWp solar PV EPC delivery including 444 MWp floating solar, its new wind vertical, PV and BESS integration for 24x7 power delivery, and early-stage engagement on interconnector, data center, and green hydrogen projects.
• Energetica India, "Solar Module Capacity Under ALMM Surpasses 193 GW in May 2026," and "ALMM Update: Solar Module Capacity Surpasses 204 GW in July 2026," confirm the ALMM List-I capacity progression and the corrected July 6, 2026 figure of 204,383 MW.
• Earth Energy Log, "India solar EPC leaders 2026," cited for context on India's domestic module-capacity surplus relative to demand; not independently cross-verified against a second source.
• Sterling & Wilson / project-owner source needed — use only if the Sweihan role, capacity, and delivery claim are verified through a company filing, project-owner release, or another high-quality source. Otherwise, remove the Sweihan reference from the article.