India’s Rooftop Solar Capacity Crossed 14 GW, Guj Remains Leader

India's Rooftop Solar Capacity Crossed 14 GW, Guj Remains Leader

India’s rooftop solar capacity has touched 14.44 GW by the end of October 2024. The latest data from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) indicate the growth of the sector. This comes after MNRE’s flagship scheme-PM Surya Ghar was launched, earlier this year.

The new scheme aims at boosting the growth of residential rooftop solar with revised subsidies. It aims to ensure the installation of rooftop solar in one crore households. However, the growth of rooftop solar is not uniform across the country.

Leading and lagging states

As per the MNRE figures, Gujarat continues to remain at the top with a total of 4,340 MW capacity. It is followed by Maharashtra (2652 MW), Rajasthan (1294 MW), Kerala (913 MW) and Tamil Nadu (792 MW).

While these leading states have made noticeable developments, there are still some states that lag behind in solar power adoption. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Delhi, and Lakshadweep are among the states that have yet to fully tap into the potential of solar energy. These states face various challenges, including geographical constraints, limited infrastructure, and financial constraints, hindering their progress in the solar power sector.

For instance, Andaman & Nicobar Islands has a total rooftop solar capacity of 4.59 MW, while Chandigarh has a mere 68.36 MW. Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have an installed rooftop solar capacity of 33.28 MW, and Delhi has 277 MW. Lakshadweep, with its unique geographical location, has no rooftop solar capacity.

However, with increasing awareness, supportive policies, and technological advancements, these lagging states have the opportunity to accelerate their solar power adoption. By addressing the challenges and leveraging the benefits of solar energy, these states can contribute to India’s overall renewable energy goals and achieve sustainable development.

Context 

The pace and success of rooftop solar in state depend on the pro-activeness of the state discoms, state’s hand-holding support and pro- solar policies in the state, tariffs among others. For example-in Gujarat, which has the highest success rate of these decentralised solar setups has one of the lowest time gap between application and final installation. Moreover, the state policies also allow installation of up to 5 kW in residential setups, irrespective of the sanctioned electricity meter demand of the households. This reduces the time period for application to discoms by smaller households to apply for increase in meter capacity to accommodate solar projects of capacity, higher than the sanctioned capacity.

Some states like Madhya Pradesh, UP and Odisha among others also give extra state subsidies to make these systems more affordable for the residential households.