rooftop solar

Achieving 40 GW Of Rooftop Solar Target By 2022 Looks Very Difficult

The growth is rooftop solar power generation remains far too slow for the country to achieve the government’s ambitious target of 40 gigawatt of rooftop capacity by 2022, industry experts said.

The country installed rooftop capacity of only 1,896 MW in 2019, according to data collected by renewable energy consultancy Bridge To India, taking the total rooftop capacity to 5.5 GW.

According to industry experts, electricity distribution companies in several states have been reluctant to support installation and integration of rooftop solar energy because of potential revenue loss for each unit of power generated.

There is push-back from discoms in several states but we expect growth to continue as the fundamentals remain strong—there is demand for renewable power, and the economics work well for commercial and industrial consumers.

Maharashtra is the fastest among states in adding rooftop capacity. “Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat are also active.”

About 85% of installations have come from the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment.

The residential market in India is very small mainly due to high upfront cost and financing-related reasons. Low consumer awareness and lack of standard products are also key market impediments.

Developers of rooftop solar are moving towards open access where projects are located elsewhere rather than on the roofs of their customers’ premises. This is because scaling is easier via the open access route.

According to Bridge To India, 380 MW was added in 2019. But it expects 1 GW of open access projects to come up in 2020.

Reference- Economic Times, livemint, Bridge To India Report