Indian Solar EPCs Go Global: 2026 Rankings

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 this month, 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.

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. The company has previously delivered the 1,177 MW Sweihan project in Abu Dhabi, the world's largest single-location solar PV plant at the time of commissioning, a marker of the kind of large-scale, complex execution Indian EPCs are now competing for internationally.

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 crossed 193 GW by May 2026, giving Indian manufacturers and EPCs 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.

Regulatory tailwinds at home are freeing up capacity to compete abroad. India's ALMM List-II cell mandate and the broader domestic manufacturing buildout have pushed Indian EPCs toward more vertically integrated, higher-capability execution models, precisely the kind of capability that positions a firm to win large international EPC contracts rather than just domestic tenders.

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.

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, led by Saudi Arabia for L&T specifically. Sterling & Wilson has a broader international footprint spanning the Gulf, Australia, and Africa, alongside its established Indian operations.

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 (193 GW as of May 2026) now 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.

Sources

• PV Tech, "Strong domestic market and Middle East demand drive growth in Indian solar EPC and O&M work" – confirms RenewAtlas and Wiki-Solar's H1 2026 rankings, SOLV Energy's leading figures, L&T's global #2 ranking, the Saudi Arabia capacity comparison, Sterling & Wilson's international footprint, and the 18% year-over-year growth figure.
• Earth Energy Log, "India solar EPC leaders 2026" – confirms ALMM-listed module capacity crossed 193 GW by May 2026 and India's domestic module-capacity surplus relative to demand.
• Enerparc / ConstructionPlacements, India solar EPC company profiles – corroborates Sterling & Wilson's Sweihan project in Abu Dhabi as its most significant prior international delivery.