Rajasthan at 2nd position in achieving rooftop solar power target

Rajasthan is at No. 2 position in achieving the target for implementing rooftop solar power projects in the country, according to recent media reports.

Gujarat, which was given a target of 3200 MW, has achieved 54%, while Rajasthan has set up 33% of the allocated 2300 MW capacity.

In terms of capacity by February 2022, Gujarat has come at No. 1 having a capacity of 1,936 MW while Maharashtra has 921 MW capacity. Rajasthan’s installed capacity stands at 748 MW.

Subodh Agarwal, secretary, department of energy, and CMD of Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation, said that the state not only has the largest installed solar capacity in the country, but also was second in achieving the rooftop capacity target allotted to it.

In February this year, data released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE highlighted that Rajasthan stood on top in the country in developing solar power with more than 10 GW of green energy capacity.

Rajasthan has left behind Karnataka and Gujarat by developing more than 10 GW of solar power capacity as of 31st January 2022. Now the share of Rajasthan alone in the total developed solar power capacity in the country has exceeded 20 per cent, an official statement said.

Due to the policies, the scenario of solar power sector has changed in the state and within three years, and 6,552 MW additional solar power capacity has been developed. Out of the total installed capacity of 49 GW in the country, Rajasthan alone has developed 10.5 GW of solar power.

Among the latest solar projects in the state, Tata Power Solar, a major integrated solar company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, commissioned a 160MW AC solar project at Jetstar, Rajasthan, this week.

Approximately 6,75,000 numbers of monocrystalline PV modules were used in this installation and it will produce 387MUs of energy per year, an official statement said.

When it comes to rooftop solar, it has been a story of underperformance in India, across states. The main issue has invariably been the reluctance of discoms to invest in pushing the targets assigned to states, as they see no financial incentive in it for themselves.