Solar scheme

HOURS after the pran pratishtha ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government would launch Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana with the objective of installing the rooftop solar system in one crore houses. The PM is hopeful that the scheme would not only reduce the electricity bill of the lower and middle classes but also make India self-reliant in the energy sector. He has stated that a nationwide campaign should be launched to mobilise residential power consumers to adopt the system in large numbers.

Optimally harnessing solar energy is essential for India, which records 250-300 sunny days in a year. The government had launched the National Portal for Rooftop Solar in July 2022 with the aim of making it easy for residential consumers to apply for installation of the system, but the response has been lukewarm so far. As per an estimate, there are less than 10 lakh households in the country with a rooftop solar setup. According to a report by CEEW (Council on Energy, Environment and Water), released in November 2023, over 25 crore households across India have the potential to install 637 GW (gigawatts) of solar energy capacity on rooftops. The report mentions that India has installed 11 GW of rooftop solar capacity, of which only 2.7 GW is in the residential sector.

The solar push is particularly vital for India’s villages, where the electricity supply remains erratic and last-mile connectivity is a challenge, despite the government’s claims that every village in the country has been electrified and every rural area is getting at least 20 hours of power daily (up from 12 hours in 2015). There is a pressing need to make the grid-connected solar rooftop power system affordable and manageable for residents. This will not only benefit consumers but also help discoms effectively handle peak loads and reduce transmission and distribution losses.