India has 637GW of residential rooftop solar energy potential: Report

Nagpur: Over 25 crore households across India have the potential to deploy 637 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy capacity on rooftops, according to a new independent report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

According to researchers, utilizing just one-third of this potential can support the entire electricity demand of the country’s residential sector. At present, India has installed 11 GW of rooftop solar capacity, of which only 2.7 GW is in the residential sector.

A bottom-up analysis across 21 Indian states that cover 97% of the country’s population found that 60% of the residential rooftop potential is concentrated in just seven states — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It further revealed that residential awareness of rooftop solar systems was less than 50% at the national level in 2020. “When it came to willingness to install rooftop solar systems, residential consumers in Gujarat were the keenest at 13%%, compared to the national average of 5%. However, residents across states perceive rooftop solar systems to be costly investments, impacting their willingness to pay,” researchers stated.

Furthermore, the rural areas show higher technical potential based on residential rooftop area (363 GW) compared to urban areas across states (274 GW). “India’s solar energy revolution–going from 2,000 megawatt (MW) of solar power capacity in 2010 to 72,018 MW now must reach households too to reach its full potential. Our analysis shows the mammoth capacity of solar systems that both rural and urban households can deploy to guarantee not only a transition to clean energy but also fulfil a basic need – access to power. But to get there, residents must get the right price,” said Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of CEEW.

Highlighting the initiatives taken by the government, joint secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Lalit Bohra said, “Accelerating the adoption of rooftop solar is crucial to decarbonise the economy and help India achieve its net zero goal by 2070. MNRE has been actively promoting the rooftop solar sector through its strategic interventions. The national dialogue on rooftop solar by CEEW and the launch of its report on the potential are timely interventions to build a common consensus among stakeholders towards making rooftop solar central to India’s energy transition.”

Another CEEW analysis released on Thursday highlighted that solarising residential households will also offer huge economic benefits to power distribution companies (discoms). “Solarising rural households in Bihar and Meghalaya highlights lifetime economic gains to the tune of Rs2,700 crore per 100 MW of solar capacity to discoms. The benefits will be due to reduced cross-subsidy burden, improved transmission and distribution losses, and lower average cost to serve consumers,” the analysis stated.

IN A NUTSHELL

- Over 25 crore households across India have potential to deploy 637 gigawatts

- One-third of this potential can support electricity demand of residential sector

- Rural areas show higher rooftop potential (363 GW) than urban areas (274 GW)

- Residential willingness to install rooftop solar systems is highest in Gujarat at 13%

- National average for the same is 5%