Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced the launch of the “Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana,” a rooftop solar scheme aimed at installing solar panels on one crore households. This announcement has given a new sense of importance and attention to the efforts to simplify rooftop solar for households. The nodal agency for this scheme will be PSU financier REC India. The goal is to implement solar panels in 10 million households.
Following on the heels, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in India recently increased subsidies for residential solar by 23 percent, from Rs 14,588/kWh to Rs 18,000/kWh for prosumers up to 3kW. This move has created waves in the Indian solar market.
In the second week of the same month, the ministry issued another notification, asking power distribution companies (discoms) to simplify the process of installing solar systems on houses and reduce the amount of documentation required from consumers.
As per a report from the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), rooftop solar is growing rapidly and is expected to set new records. Currently, India’s total grid-connected solar rooftop capacity is 11.08 GW, which is only 15% of the country’s total solar capacity.
The residential sector in India needs a focused approach from the Prime Minister to make progress in rooftop solar. India’s failure to meet its solar target is mainly due to the lack of progress in the residential sector. Currently, only 35% of installed rooftop solar is in households, while the rest is in the commercial and industrial sector.
The Prime Minister’s announcement is strategically timed to benefit from the positive developments in the sector, such as reduced module prices and a growing domestic manufacturing industry.
According to the IEEFA report, India is expected to have a record-breaking year in FY24 with installations of 4 GW of solar power. This is due to the decline in solar module prices, the extension of the ALMM scheme exemption, and the growth of domestic solar module production.
Reference- Mercom India, Business Standard, MNRE website, Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) report