M Ahmad
World Energy Conservation Day is celebrated on 14th December globally to highlight the importance of energy consumption and its use in our day-to-day life, its scarcity and its impact on the sustainability of global ecosystems. It focuses our attention on significant issues facing the future of mankind with respect to energy. This Day serves to spell a sense of urgency on the issues involved.
India is in the middle of an unprecedented power crisis. A shortage of domestic coal has caused a precarious situation at power plants, leading to power cuts and outages. The country recently saw an energy deficit of 5 percent at the national level, with some states reporting even steeper deficits. The looming power crisis has renewed attention on alternative power sources. One such technology-rooftop solar-despite being promising, has remained critically underutilised in India. There are several benefits of installing a rooftop solar plant, both for consumers as well as the Government. For instance, they can help cut down electricity bills and they also align with the government’s ambitious goal of going greener. Solar is green and an environmentally sustainable choice. A 5 kW solar system is equivalent to reducing 7.3 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year. Investing in solar creates a positive impact on everyone. Climate change, pollution, natural resource constraints and positive public sentiment are creating more demand for electricity procured from renewable sources. Though the deficiency of power in India is decreasing rapidly, still there are many people both in the rural and urban areas, who have improper and unreliable access to electricity. These people are forced to rely on alternatives like diesel generators. These alternatives pose harmful effects on the health and they are volatile in terms of their operating costs. In such a scenario, solar energy serves as an affordable source of electricity. Since rooftop solar panels harness the power of the sun. India ranks 3rd in renewable energy country attractive index in 2021 and 3rd largest energy consuming country in the world.
Solar energy is environmentally-friendly. It doesn’t release any air toxic gases like CO2 during usage. Thus, solar energy in India is a blessing to the environment. Pollution that’s still going strong at alarming rates will drastically drop once more and more people will start using solar energy. India has witnessed rapid growth in its renewable energy capacity. Solar energy in India has grown about 18 times in the last seven and a half years. Today, the Indian renewable sector ranks 4th on the list of the world’s most attractive renewable energy sectors. Solar energy is the most abundant sources of renewable power in the country. The country has set an ambitious target to achieve a capacity of 175 GW worth of renewable energy by the end of 2022, which expands to 500 GW by 2030. This is the world’s largest expansion plan in renewable energy.India has set a target to reduce the carbon intensity of the nation’s economy by less than 45% by the end of the decade, achieve 50% cumulative electric power installed by 2030, and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. Low-carbon technologies could create a market worth up to $80 bn in India by 2030.
Solar technologies absorb the Sun’s radiation and turn it into energy. When the sun shines onto a solar panel, the photovoltaics (PV) cells in the panel absorb the sunlight, helping in the creation of electric current. A rooftop solar plant refers to one where the solar panels are mounted on top of a residential or commercial building. Rooftop PV systems on residential buildings typically feature a capacity of about 5-20 kilowatts (kW), while those mounted on commercial buildings often reach 100 kilowatts to 1 Megawatt (MW). Very large roofs can house industrial scale PV systems in the range of 1-10 Megawatts. It is cheaper than the conventional electric supply and government subsidies also help bring the cost down. Most rooftop solar systems have a life expectancy of up to 25 years and require only basic maintenance such as regular cleaning and repairs. No additional land is required as vacant rooftop space can be utilised for installing solar panels. Solar is a clean and renewable source of energy that helps in cutting the emission of greenhouse gases.
The cost of setting up a rooftop solar system varies with the quality and price of the modules and inverters used. On average, the installation of a 1 kW rooftop solar system could cost between Rs 45,000 and Rs 85,000. Batteries would cost extra if power is to be stored. Similarly, the cost for a 5 kW system would fall between Rs 2,25,000 to Rs 3,25,000. Rooftop solar systems are considered lighter on pocket as their cost can usually be recovered in 5-6 years. The central government offers financial support to consumers for installing rooftop solar systems. However, the subsidy is only available for residential properties and not for commercial/industrial establishments. The Goverment subsidy ranges are: Up to 3 kW capacity – 40%, 4-10 kW capacity – 20%, Above 10 kW – No subsidy In the case of GHS/RWA consumers, there is a subsidy provision of 20% for a total capacity up to 500 kWp (limited to 10 kWp per house).
Significant adoption of rooftop solar can be witnessed across India, especially in states such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Improved net metering policies, high grid tariffs and increased awareness among the consumers are the major reasons for an increase in rooftop solar adoption. Rajasthan has the highest solar power generation potential of any state in the country. The state recently surpassed Karnataka as the leading state in solar installations.As of August 2022, Rajasthan’s operational solar power projects produced roughly 14454.70 MW of solar energy. Rajasthan plans to install 30,000 MW of solar energy capacity by 2025.
A solar rooftop installation can reduce 80-90 percent of the electricity bill every month. A5kW system can generate around 600 units and save Rs. 4,200 per month. Solar systems are highly reliable and have a life span of 25 years. This means that you are protected against any increase in the grid tariff of the future. As solar systems are very reliable, you save money in terms of maintenance as well. Along with the generation of electricity, solar power can meet several other purposes. It can be used to heat water and supply hot water or air to a building. It can also be used to run electric generators. Though large scale installations account for 87 percent of solar power generation, today the adoption rate of solar rooftop panels is accelerating. The installed capacity of solar rooftop augmented from 117 MW to 1250 MW from the period between 2013 to 2016. Taking this immense growth into consideration, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy through its National Solar Mission Of India has set a target of 40 GW power through rooftop solar by 2022. The Government aims to develop a green country. As India is gradually increasing the use of solar and wind energy, the CEA stated that renewable energy generation might increase from 18% to 44% by 2029-30 in the country.
Solar panels are designed to withstand rainfall and snowfall even though they may be heavy. They are made of toughened glass and are completely waterproof. They are designed to handle all outside atmospheric conditions for more than 25 years including rain and snow. While a thick layer of snow can certainly affect the energy production of the PV cells, a bit of snow is not that bad for the panels as some sunlight can still pass through. Further, rooftop installations are usually done in a way that the snow slides off naturally. Surprisingly, the blanket of snow around the home can increase the solar energy generation as the radiation reflected from the snow acts as a mirror. This, in turn, increases the intensity of the radiation reaching the solar panels in winter. The biggest advantage of installing rooftop solar panels is that they offer cost savings. The tariff rates for rooftop solar in comparison to industrial and commercial tariff rates are cheaper by 17% and 27% respectively. Rooftop solar installations are also attaining grid parity in many residential sectors of India. For building owners, rooftop solar installations can even help in cutting down electricity bills. Rooftop panels supply electricity to buildings, so they need to buy less electricity.
India needs a lot more solar power as part of its net-zero emissions plans. Currently solar accounts for around 7% of India’s electricity generation. One state, Gujarat, currently has nearly two-thirds of all residential rooftop solar power in India, despite covering just 6% of its land mass. Gujarat has nearly two-thirds of all residential rooftop solar power in India, despite having just 5% of India’s 1.4 billion population and 6% of its land mass. India needs a lot more solar power as part of its plans to get half of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030, and ultimately reach net-zero emissions by 2070. Solar now accounts for around 7% of India’s electricity generation – according to the Central Electricity Authority of India.
This is an era where more and more people are adopting eco-friendly items. The consumers, especially industrial and commercial consumers, are willing to make capital investments to contribute towards the preservation of the environment. Environment-friendly customers are even willing to pay higher than grid power. Being a civilized nation, we should focus on the attention of decision-makers (Government and Private sector) in directing resources towards energy generation through non-conventional sources on a larger scale.
“Fire made us human, fossil fuels made us modern, but now we need a new fire that makes us safe, secure, healthy and durable.”
– Amory Lovins
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