MNRE Working on Unified Portal to Boost the Installation of Rooftop Solar in India

Globally, solar has emerged as the fastest growing energy generation technology due to large-scale adoption of the technology by consumers on the back of rapid cost reduction, increased awareness on climate change, energy security, and creation of an enabling framework for adoption by policy makers. The Government of India (GOI) has set an ambitious target of 100GW for solar-based generation by 2022, of which 40 GW will be set up as solar rooftop systems.

In a market where the demand for electricity is growing, RTS offers many economic advantages such as

➽ Savings in transmission and distribution losses

➽ Savings of investment in network infrastructure and lower cost of energy vis-à-vis average pooled purchase prices paid by the utilities

There is no effective loss of customers for the utilities, because despite the growth of RTS, the overall demand in the economy will grow, albeit slowly.

Solar rooftop market is still at a nascent stage and numerous critical links of the market ecosystem are still being developed for scaling up solar rooftop deployment. Also, the institutional framework around the deployment of solar rooftop is yet to be fully mature. For instance, any consumer who wishes to install a solar rooftop system may not have the detailed information available at one place. Today, if someone wants to install a solar panel at roof of his business unit, the person would not know who to approach. India has set an ambitious target of having 100GW of solar capacity by 2022, and steps must be taken to scale up the use of solar energy in the country.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in association with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank is developing a unified web portal, which will facilitate as a single-window clearance system for the consumers looking to install rooftop solar panels. Besides, the portal will also help in promoting and creating awareness regarding usage of rooftop solar in India.

The portal will provide all information related to installation of solar panel such as:

➽ Information as to what all agencies have to be approached

➽ How to get clearance for installation of solar panels

➽ What are the necessary documents required

➽ Which companies are developers of solar panels and install solar panels

➽ Information related incentives and other benefits

The World Bank-led multi-stakeholder Technical Assistance (TA) program — SUPRABHA has helped in upping the game in demand aggregation of RTS in India. SUPRABHA has been highly successful in enrolling utilities to anchor rooftop solar programs. In any country this is a challenge, more so in India, where utilities are grappling with many challenges simultaneously. Utilities can bring the rooftop solar close to consumers who otherwise are unlikely to be the targets of Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOs).