The rooftop solar projects have not experienced a high growth rate as compared to ground-mounted solar projects. Total rooftop solar installations as of December 2019 is 5.440 GW vis-à-vis a cumulative installed solar capacity of 35.7 GW. Rooftop solar has been maintained at ~10% share of overall solar capacity. This is much lower than other key markets such as the US, Germany, China, Spain, and Australia.
According to a report, India needs to prioritize solar rooftop among residential and industrial users for achieving its 100GW solar energy target by 2022. Demand aggregation rooftop solar mechanism could help expedite energy efficiency and scale up the deployment of solar power in residential complexes and MSMEs, according to WRI India.
Modest uptake of grid-connected rooftop solar systems can be attributed to
· The individual installation approach
· Lack of asset securitization
· Non-bankable PPA
· High transaction costs for the developers, etc.
Aggregating the demand can accelerate the uptake in geography. Marketing/lead generation/transaction costs which form a significant portion of the total expenditure of the developers can also be reduced by aggregating the rooftop solar demand. States can adopt the aggregation route for accelerating the installation of rooftop solar systems in the state. In this process, the aggregated demand in the geography is bid-out to the developers, thereby decreasing the effective transaction costs of the developers due to aggregation and economies of scale. Interest from various developers is solicited for the aggregated demand and the demand is then awarded to the most qualified bidder. The asset is securitized by developing the draft model PPA format post consultations with all the stakeholders involved, including the lenders.
The indicators of success are evident from the substantial reduction in transaction cost for developers, the discovery of competitive bidding rates (lowest of INR 1.38/kWh for Madhya Pradesh), large developer turn around and market participation, creation of a ready pool of contented consumers, potential assessment and creation of a centralized repository of data of sites and seamless execution of multiple residential rooftop solar tender.
