How India can become a world leader in solar power

To not become dependent on imported equipment, India must immediately work on developing the value chain ecosystem to become competitive in the long run.

India is on its way to increase its industrial and economic health through structural reforms. The country has decided to phase out fossil-based energy generation and adopt green energy. This has been helpful in laying a path to move towards sustainable energy.

India’s per capita energy consumption currently stands nearly one-third of the world average. India is running renewable energy initiatives in a big way and has developed as the second most attractive market for renewable energy equipment in the world. With the headquarters of International Solar Alliance, India is all set to become a global leader in solar energy.

Solar and wind were once considered a costly source of power, but are now much cheaper than the conventional form of energy. India has already achieved 23 GW of solar installations with another 40 GW of solar power being at different stages of bidding and installation. India set ambitious targets for itself to achieve 100 GW of solar power by 2022.

Evaluating the Case for Rooftop Solar on Residential Buildings in India

In 2017, residential rooftop solar raised by 45% over the last year and in 2018, it grew 75% y-o-y. Furthermore, the Government of India is offering a 30% capital subsidy to residential rooftop solar customers to encourage higher green energy adoption.

Statistics show that the marketing potential of the rooftop solar in the country stands up to 1, 24,000 MW, India added only 864 MW of rooftop solar capacity in 2017, total capacity amounting to ~1.2 GW. Even states that are leading India in rooftop solar capacity- Maharashtra (237 MW), Tamil Nadu (191 MW) Rajasthan (129 MW), Karnataka (125 MW), Gujarat (103 MW) have industrial and commercial installations to credit (taking 30% and 61% share) for their current solar capacity, while residential capacity stands at a meager level (9% in 2019).

If we are to compare India’s Residential rooftop solar capacities with leading solar countries, we will see a huge gap, which highlights the reason behind this scenario.

The reason behind delay in rooftop solar growth (especially in residential sector) are- delays in policy implementation, disallowing important policies like- putting cap on net-metering, Net metering (Tamil Nadu), lack of clarity in policies, lack of clarity in disbursement of subsidies, delays in subsidy payment, lack of awareness, and bureaucratic hurdles in getting approvals, etc.

What are the solutions?

Countries that are successful in the rooftop solar sector have shown that involving a common man into the solar adoption program helps in increasing awareness, which gets faster the overall solar adoption rate. Therefore, India needs to walk on the same paths to succeed in offering power for all and lifting the darkness of more than 200 million people in India.

• Rooftop solar has to surpass the cost-effectiveness of the subsidized power to encourage residential solar adoption.
• Also, we need to emphasize that the residential consumer has to bear the initial cost of installing the solar plant before the subsidies are made available to them. The Government of India needs to focus on offering financial solutions to reduce the financial burden and encourage residential solar consumers.
• Government of India also needs to focus on community solar, which buildings without solar installation facilities can easily obtain.
• Investment in energy storage technology is needed to help assure the residential solar plant owner.
• Making information on subsidies, installation, and benefits accessible to all will also help in developing residential solar growth.
• Bringing in nodal agencies to spread awareness and involving the common man can work wonders in quick growth in the residential solar sector.

Are you looking for Rooftop solar?

Contact Oakridge Energy Pvt Ltd. - North India’s leading solar rooftop installer. Bring over 100 man-years of experience in project design, implementation, and service; Oakridge provides solutions for calculate Savings from Solar, Get BOM for Rooftop Solar Plant and Purchase Solar Panels in India. Install a 5 kW, 10 kW, 50kW, & 100 kW Solar Power plant today.

Rajesh Mishra is a passionate blogger and digital marketer from India. He loves to share his ideas through this blog to help readers.