10 million households to have rooftop solar panels, says PM Narendra Modi

The first decision I have taken after returning from Ayodhya is that our government will launch 'Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana' with the target of installing rooftop solar on 1 crore houses, he said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced the launch of Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana (PSY) that aims to install rooftop solar power systems at 10 million households across the country.

“Today, on the auspicious occasion of consecration in Ayodhya, my resolution got further strengthened that the people of India should have their own solar rooftop system on the roof of their houses. The first decision I have taken after returning from Ayodhya is that our government will launch ‘Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana’ with the target of installing rooftop solar on 10 million houses,” the PM posted on social media platforms.

The PM said the scheme would not only reduce the electricity bill of the poor and middle class but would also make India self-reliant in the energy sector.

Modi chaired a meeting with senior officials of the PM office and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). He is learnt to have urged the officials to start a massive national campaign to mobilise residential segment consumers to adopt rooftop solar in large numbers, senior officials said.

Rooftop solar entails installing solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of an establishment or home. The systems can either be with a battery storage system or without it. The system is connected with the main supply unit. It helps the establishment reduce its consumption of grid-connected electricity that it gets through metered connection by the respective power distribution company (discom). This saves electricity cost for the consumer.

In a solar rooftop system, there is only an upfront capital investment and minimal cost for maintenance. The cost varies based on the size and capacity of the solar photovoltaic panel and the battery.

The Centre currently has a National Rooftop Scheme that provides financial assistance totaling 40 per cent of the capital cost of a solar rooftop project. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) selects the projects based on submissions made by discoms, wherein private contractors/vendors selected by discoms build the project. There have been instances of fraud where some rooftop solar companies or vendors claimed that they are authorised vendors by the ministry. The government recently issued notices saying no vendor had been authorised.

Business Standard recently reported that the government was shifting focus on decentralised solar for meeting the green energy targets. It was also planning to hand the scheme to the leading power sector financer REC Limited to spread its reach and plug inefficiencies.

REC, in the past, has been the nodal agency for various flagship energy access schemes of the Centre, such as the rural electrification under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and the PM-SAUBHAGYA scheme.

Rooftop solar has been lagging as compared to the grid-connected ground-mounted solar power projects. Of the total installed solar power generation capacity of 73 gigawatts (Gw) in the country, ground-mounted (large-scale solar power generating units) is 56.9 Gw, while grid-connected rooftop solar is 11 Gw and off-grid is 2.75 Gw.