NEW DELHI: Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have emerged as front-runners in rooftop solar installations, even as more than 23 lakh rooftop solar systems (RTS) were installed across the country in the last two years under Prime Minister Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.The scheme was launched on February 13, 2024 with a financial outlay of Rs 75,021 crore and aims to install RTS in 10,000-crore households by March 2027. The Center provides one-time financial assistance of up to Rs 78,000 per household, while some states also provide additional subsidies.According to the national portal, as of February 13 this year, 23,68,383 systems with a total capacity of approximately 8,691 MW have been installed. The government has released a subsidy of Rs 16,932.4 billion.Under the scheme, a 3-kilowatt solar farm could generate about 300 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month – enough to reduce electricity bills to zero if consumption stays within that limit. More than 1.25 million consumers have received zero electricity bills for at least a month since its launch.If state-level subsidy programs are included, the number of installations is estimated to be closer to 3 million.Gujarat leads with nearly 560,000 installs, followed by Maharashtra (450,000 installs), Uttar Pradesh (370,000 installs) and Kerala (190,000 installs). Adoption remains low in the Northeast: Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura have a combined total of 4,174 installations. Delhi, Goa, West Bengal and Chandigarh also have lower installation numbers at 6,209, 1,721, 1,265 and 1,050 units respectively.The government admits that nearly three-quarters of the facilities are concentrated in 1,011 states. Many states have yet to publish guidelines for virtual net metering, which allows consumers to put excess electricity into the grid and get paid. “This is a customer-first model. It has become very popular,” said JVN Subramanyam, joint secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
