Harnessing the Sun

VASUDEVA MURTHY, A TECHIE from Bengaluru, says he has anecdotal evidence to conclude that the Karna­taka government’s scheme to provide free power up to 200 units has led to a decline in the installation of rooftop so­lar panels in his neighbourhood. “Free power doesn’t mean an uninterrupted power supply, especially in many parts of India where school students, job seekers, entrepreneurs, and others constantly have to struggle with an inadequate supply of power or lack of it,” Murthy says, emphasising something we all know: residents in the countryside are the worst hit, be it in Karnataka or Bihar or the Northeast. He, however, feels that things are set to change if people see multiple gains from solar power, especially if there are incentives to save as well as make money.

And it looks like they won’t have to wait too long for a change to unfold.

Shortly after the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojana (PMSY), as part of which, he said, the government envisages placing rooftop solar installa­tions in 10 million homes on a war footing.

The sense of urgency in the prime minister’s statement on X (formerly Twitter) stems from the fact that only 1 per cent of homes in India currently have rooftop photovoltaic cells linked to the power grid that will, in addition to drastically cutting the costs of availing electricity supply, help people earn money for surplus power. “On the auspicious occasion of the consecration in Ayodhya, my resolve has been further strengthened that the people of India should have their own solar rooftop system on the roof of their houses,” Modi said on January 22. “This will not only reduce the electricity bills of the poor and middle classes, but will also make India self-reliant in the energy sector,” he posted on X.

The scheme, an expansion of a programme originally launched two years ago, is expected to place India solidly on the fast track towards adopting renewable energy for its myriad needs. Meanwhile, according to people close to the matter, there are expectations that the government will further subsidise the pro­gramme to lessen the financial burden of installing rooftop solar photovoltaic cells. In her speech on February 1, presenting the Union Budget 20244-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reaffirmed the Prime Minister’s commitment to rooftop solari­sation. Elaborating on it, she said, that through the project, 10 million houses will be enabled to obtain up to 300 units of free electricity per month. According to the finance minister, this scheme is expected to ensure savings of up to ₹15,000-18,000 annually for houses with rooftop solar electricity. Such consum­ers will also be able to sell the rest to electricity vendors and cre­ate employment opportunities for the youth for installation and maintenance.

India certainly has a long way to go and the government knows only too well that it is running behind schedule and cannot wait any longer: the current rooftop solar capacity is a mere 11.08 GW out of the total solar capacity of 72.31 GW. The government’s target is to drastically increase India’s solar capacity to 292 GW in the next six years and grow its total renewable capacity to 500 GW.

In response to the prime minister’s solar push, pundits aver that rooftop photovoltaic cells will eventually mean the end of the sway of populist sops like free power.

The logic is simple. What people need aren’t government handouts but a steady supply.

“After all, it is an age when people need to be connected to move ahead in life,” says a Delhi-based government official who has closely followed the challenges and opportunities in renewable energy. The problem of access to power is grim in many parts of the country, he concedes. “Which is why populism reigns,” he adds.

The official is spot-on about the plight of the majority and their attraction for freebies. Sample this: in Sikkim’s lower Dzongu region of Gor and adjoining districts, about a three-to-four-hour drive from state capital Gangtok, power outage for 5-10 hours a day is regular, says Kurshong Lepcha, a resident of the region who is a research scholar at Sikkim University. “When politi­cians make a statement about free power, people immediately fall for it,” he points out from experience. Lepcha stays back in Gangtok even on holidays—even if it means missing out on his mother’s mouthwatering home-cooked meals—because he needs to work late at night. “Students and professionals suffer because of interrupted power supply. Free power is not the solu­tion here. It merely offers politicians a perception advantage, noth­ing more. I assume that rooftop solar panels are a great idea and a solution to such problems, but we are not there yet in Dzongu. In the rainy season, we go without power for up to two weeks [although there is enough sunlight to power solar panels],” he reveals, adding that solar panels are currently owned only by a few households and schools in lower Dzongu and none of them are connected to the power grid. The state government offers free power up to 100 units, but it is not enough. “What we need is 24×7 power supply,” the 33-year-old adds. At home, his parents pay up to ₹400 a month, however erratic the power supply. “An alternative to that is in order,” he asserts, hoping that a rooftop solar scheme can improve the lives of millions of Indians who can cut costs and save energy. It could also help people earn and could be expanded in future to enable peer-to-peer solar energy trading using advanced technologies like blockchain.

The proof of gains of going solar is felt not just by the poor and the lower middle classes; even the well-heeled vouch that rooftop solar installations offer them huge benefits that surpass their expectations.

Kerala-based Vinod Kumar hasn’t paid a single penny to the Kerala State Electricity Board for over a year since he became a user of the flagship Cen­tral scheme for rooftop solar installa­tions—essentially, photovoltaic cells. Before that, his home electricity bill was upwards of ₹4,000 every two months. Now, the situation has reversed and the state electricity board owes him money. “They haven’t paid me yet,” says this sea­soned marine engineer with a laugh. Kumar had spent ₹2.2 lakh to install solar panels in his home, connected to the state power grid. Kumar’s savings in power bills are huge considering that he uses his 3kW solar system not only for his home use but also for his electric vehicle which he takes out for long-distance drives every week a month on an average. “If I had availed of the subsidy offered by the Central government for the rooftop installation, I would have saved much more (paying a mere ₹1.5 lakh). I chose not to because there are possibly others who are needier,” notes Kumar. With the finesse often displayed by the mathematically inclined, he emphasises that such home solar panels will ensure energy self-reliance and help the poor and lower middle classes access an affordable power supply. The Cen­tral scheme launched in 2022 offers loans for 40 per cent of the capital cost of installing rooftop 3kW solar panels. For those opt­ing for a larger capacity of 10kW, a 20 per cent subsidy is on offer.

The needier people that Kumar talks about are the ones Modi probably had in mind when he launched the scheme, which will eventually benefit urban dwellers as well as job aspirants, while the big chunk of beneficiaries will be those below the povertyline. Such schemes, according to a Delhi-based electricity sector employee not authorised to speak to the media, will contrib­ute to ringing out power freebies and obliterat­ing distribution losses.

Bengaluru-based Ulka Kelkar, executive di­rector of the climate programme at the World Resources Institute (WRI), says about rooftop solar panels, “The expansion of the rooftop so­lar programme is a very good way for India to meet its renewable energy and net-zero goals. Compared to other types of renewable energy, rooftop solar needs less land and can generate more jobs for installation and operation.”

Kelkar, also an economist, quotes studies that suggest that 1MW (megawatt) of rooftop solar can potentially create seven times the employment as 1MW of ground-mounted utility solar and 16 times that of 1MW of coal power. WRI is a non-profit that advises gov­ernments, businesses, and other groups on sustainable development. Kelkar notes that the scheme builds on previous years of policy and implementation experience in different Indian states. “For instance, it is worth noting that the new schemes include incentives for shared rooftops and rented rooftops and in­clude a renewable energy service company (RESCO) model,” she explains. The RESCO model is a zero-investment one in which the consumer pays only for the power generated and the solar plant is owned by the developer.

Kelkar argues that such models reflect ground realities and reduce the need for indi­vidual families to take on the high installation cost and, instead, encourages them to use roof­top solar power as a service. “Going further, the policy can also support demand aggregation from MSMEs, self-help groups, schools, hospi­tals and health centres, cold storage units, etc, which can benefit from reliable electricity and reduced energy costs. Moreover, any incen­tive to consumers should be complemented by providing skills to local technicians for maintenance and repair, to avoid such assets becoming defunct if not serviced promptly. The MNRE’s [Ministry of New and Renewable Energy] Suryamitra and other such skilling schemes can be scaled up further, particularly increasing women’s access to such training,” she advocates.

The success of the project depends on attention to detail.

Like other analysts, Kelkar, too, believes that in addition to the subsidy incentives, consumers will appreciate predictable net-me­terin grates, avoiding frequent changes or rollbacks.“Based on previ­ous experience, states changing from highnet-metering rates to low net-metering rates or to gross metering rates or even the zero rate can be confusing for households deciding whether to opt for rooftop solar and for vendors deciding whether to get into the business of installing rooftop solar,” she says. “Since rooftop solar can be quite ex­pensive to install, in addition to the subsidies offered in the new scheme, households can be supported in accessing finance—by bun­dling the installation cost amount into new house loans at concessional rates or easing mortgage requirements for existing homes to access loans to install rooftop solar,” Kelkar offers. According to her, other policies can also be considered, following the example of rainwater harvesting for which a property tax rebate is given in some cities and is also made mandatory for residential properties above a certain size.

Incidentally, Kelkar has a word of advice for electricity distribution companies (dis­coms). They need support to continue in­vesting in the electricity grid infrastructure despite losing paying customers of electricity. She states, “Rooftop solar expansion can be a way for discoms to achieve their renewable purchase obligations (RPOs), which will be 43 per cent by 2030.” As of now, according to official figures, Rajasthan boasts of the high­est solar capacity of all states with Gujarat coming in the second position. In rooftop solar capacity, Gujarat tops the list with 2.8 GW, followed by Maharashtra at 1.7 GW.

Meeting energy requirements in the most populous nation and meeting sustainable tar­gets will be a tough task. India is likely to ac­count for 25 percent of global energy demand growth over the next two decades. According to Reuters, India’s power demand grew about 8 per cent—or at nearly double the pace of the Indo-Pacific region—to more than 149.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) from the previous year. The agency said that in the first two months of 2023, demand jumped 10 percent from a year ago. The report added that industrial and com­mercial activity account for more than half of India’s annual power use and that homes account for a fourth, while agriculture has accounted for over a sixth in recent years.

Vinod Kumar’s experience confirms that rooftop PV cells can launch a new beginning in India for a large section of people across the socioeconomic divide. Night-time blackouts are a nightmare for students, especially in the hinterland in examination season. Any such disruption also impedes the job of any professional who handles his work online. Schemes linked to incentives have per­formed well lately in India, and maybe thanks to PMSY, we are on the brink of an energy revolution that will forever change the rules of engagement between government and consumer.

AyodhyaNarendra ModiPradhanmantri Suryoday Yojanarooftop solar schemesolar energy