Solar Energy is one of the most reliable sources of renewable energy available to us today, with minimal to zero carbon footprints. India is currently moving ahead at a rapid pace to make this technology widespread, especially by encouraging homes and other institutions to deploy solar panels at top of their buildings for generation of electricity, which are known as Solar  Rooftop Photovoltaic ( SRT PV system) power stations. The government offers a subsidy to the residential, institutional and social sectors to the tune of   30% and 70 % of the benchmarked installation cost for rooftop PV systems for general and special category states respectively. In addition to the subsidy, people can avail priority sector loans of up to 10 lakhs from nationalized banks as home loan or home improvement loan. Recently, government has added another feature to make the SRT more attractive economically, which is, net metering, also called Net Energy Metering or NEM,which allows solar customers to sell excess solar energy back to the grid to reduce their bills. Net metering works by calculating the difference between the export of power generated by the consumer from a rooftop solar installation, and the import of power from the distribution companies (DISCOM) using a bi -directional meter. Consumers are then compensated for the surplus power generated at a price determined by the state.

A review of poor uptake of SRT on the ground

Despite these offered incentives, it should be noted that total rooftop capacity currently is mere 1.222 gigawatts (GW-Unit of Energy) with residential rooftop solar contribution standing at just 0.37GW, out of total target of 40 GW by 2022. This clearly indicates the need for a review of its implementation on the ground. To encourage installation of new SRT PV system, certain steps need to be taken.  Some of the key measures which need attention are as discussed below.

Addressing disconnect in Information with consumers

One of the consumer survey report, from an NGO-World Resource International (WRI) on consumer experiences while adopting solar roof top connections, reveals that lack of clear information on various aspects, such as- knowledge about solar panels & batteries quality, available reliable vendors, ,  process of installation and approval process, misinformation regarding mortgaging of home with bank for availing loan is one of the major reason that are behind the crawling pace of uptake in the residential rooftop solar sector[1].

On accessing the information being made available by the government on rooftop solar PV Installation, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) provides a basic knowledge kit about rooftop solar, including quick calculations on installation costs and updates on the regulatory ecosystem in the country through its web based applications- ARUN (Atal Rooftop Solar User Navigator) and SPIN (Solar Photovoltaic Installations)[2]^,[3]. The Ministry has also listed empaneled channel partners which can be approached by consumers for solar of top installation on its website. But these, in general, had little impact on uptake, owing to small number of people reaching out through these internets based mediums. Hence, there is a need to address this disconnect between government efforts to digitize the information and dissemination process, and the accessibility of this information for consumers. In order to address this disconnect, the Nationalized banks providing home loans should be instructed to provide information on opportunities available for solar loans with home loan seekers. A dedicated information desk with technical person from vendor or Power Distribution Utility (DISCOMs -BSES, NDPL etc.in Delhi) can be placed in banks for such information to facilitate the entire process of installation.

Effective dissemination of objective information, easy accessibility of information to consumers and local information campaigns for awareness are key for helping more households opt a cleaner source of energy.

 Speedily process approval by Distribution Utility (DISCOMs)

Net metering was introduced in India as a measure to make SRT more accessible and economical for electricity consumers across the country. However, its implementation has been rocky on the ground. Many states are hesitant to provide a robust environment for rooftop solar with approval process itself take around three to six months in some states which really make customer uninterested to avail home loan with SRT incentives. Difficulty in procurement of net meters is another issues being faced by interested consumers.

In conclusion, In order to meet the lofty target of deploying 40 GW of rooftop solar by 2022, it is important for the central government to take measures to provide easy accessibility of information to consumers and encourage state governments and DISCOMs to standardize approval process across the country.

[1]  Here Comes The Sun: Residential Consumers’ Experiences With Rooftop Solar PV In Five Indian Cities Amala Devi, Uttara Narayan & Tirthankar Mandal, 2018 Available at : https://www.wri.org/publication/here-comes-the-sun

[2] ARUN 2 Google play App link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nicmnre.nicarun&hl=en_IN

[3] Solar Rooftop Installation Interest Form,  Available at : https://solarrooftop.gov.in/Grid/request.html

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author, and don’t necessarily reflect the position of CBGA. You can reach Jyotsna Goel at jyotsna@cbgaindia.org.