Rooftop solar key to meeting India’s growing energy needs, say experts

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s need for energy is rising because cities are growing quickly, the economy is expanding, and more households are using energy. The increasing use of air conditioners and electric vehicles (EVs) is adding to this demand.

Solar power will be critical in handling this demand surge from homes. Installing solar panels on rooftops could help meet the growing energy needs.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Neeraj Kuldeep, Senior Programme Lead at Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Nikhil Nigania, Senior Analyst at Bernstein discussed at length the need to scale up rooftop solar and highlighted the importance of net metering and transmission capex.

They also discussed the challenges and opportunities surrounding EV adoption in India, including the unpredictability of power demand due to EV charging.

In February, Prime Minister Modi launched the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana with an investment of over ₹75,000 crore for installing solar rooftops for 10 million households.

The solar power scheme seeks to offer 300 units of free electricity every month.

Also Read | PM Modi announces ‘Muft Bijli Yojana’ to provide free electricity to 1 crore households

“The solar energy ambitions were started in 2014 and we have come a long way. But the rooftop solar sector wasn’t picking up well over these last 10 years. The PM Surya Ghar scheme is now trying to provide the necessary impetus that is needed to scale up the success we have seen in the utility-scale. We want to replicate that for rooftop solar as well and have almost 10x growth in the next three years,” Kuldeep noted.

Therefore, from the perspective of reducing dependence on coal, rooftop solar in the residential sector is likely to be quite crucial, he added.

Also Read | PM Modi’s next target is zero electricity bill and wants solar panels in every household

Kuldeep noted that EVs bring unpredictability as it is difficult to gauge when the users will charge their vehicles leading to a sudden spurt in power demand. “So how do we manage that and whether we have the infrastructure there? So that is something we will have to solve as the EV adoption is growing.”

Nigania highlighted the challenges that India currently faces in solar power.

Net metering, for instance, is something which would be critical for the scheme to get implemented because big energy consumption by households typically happens in the evening hours.

‘…the rooftop solar supports the afternoon supply of power; we still need power in the evenings and that is where thermal power companies also come in,” he said.

For the entire discussion, watch the accompanying video

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow