Power sector financer REC likely to lead National Rooftop Solar scheme

Leading power sector financer REC Limited will be given the reins of the National Rooftop Solar scheme as the Centre shifts its focus to decentralised solar for meeting green energy targets.

Sources said REC will be made the nodal agency for the scheme to spread its reach across the country and plug the inefficiencies.

In the past, REC has been the nodal agency for various nationwide schemes of the ministry of power. Most notable among them are rural electrification under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and the Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) scheme.

REC is currently one of the nodal agencies of another flagship scheme of the Centre — Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). It is aimed at improving the financial and operational health of state-owned power distribution companies (discoms).

Officials said given that REC has achieved success in various nationwide programmes, it can replicate the same for rooftop solar, which has been lagging behind the grid-connected, ground-mounted solar power projects.

Out of the total installed solar power generation capacity of 73 gigawatt (Gw) in the country, ground-mounted (large-scale solar power generating units) is 56.9 Gw. Grid-connected rooftop solar is 11 Gw and off-grid is 2.75 Gw.

“REC has a field office in every nook and corner of the country which it has built while commissioning the universal electrification programmes of the Centre. This gives it a natural advantage to penetrate similar services and programmes,” said an official.

The programme and portal was managed by the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), which managed the fund disbursement, selection of service providers, project allocation and regular monitoring.

Officials said MNRE is in active discussions with REC and is drafting the modalities for handing over the scheme to it. The scheme entails a central financial assistance totalling 40 per cent of the capital cost of a solar rooftop project.

MNRE selects projects on the basis of submissions made by discoms, wherein private contractors/vendors selected by the discoms build the project.

There have been instances of fraud where some rooftop solar companies/vendors claimed that they are authorised vendors of the ministry. The ministry recently issued several notices saying no vendor has been authorised by it.