New Delhi: The government’s keenness to promote rooftop solar installations comes through in the interim budget. Addressing a press conference after the budget, union finance secretary T.V. Somanathan said: “There is a provision of ₹10,000 crore for rooftop solar in the budget.”
The move is expected to boost the ambitious goal of 500 gigawatts (GW) renewable capacity by 2030. With a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, India is positioning itself as a front-runner in fighting climate change.
Although the modalities of the scheme have not yet been announced, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the media after presenting the budget: “Rooftop solar for at least 300 units of power generation every month, which will be ‘muft bijli’ (free electricity) for the households. There will be some assistance and some kind of a funding which will be extended.”
In her budget speech, she said that beneficiaries can save ₹15,000-18,000 annually. “So, you are generating the renewable energy, providing renewable energy generators the free power which they would want to use, and the surplus they produce can be used for selling and earning money.”
On 22 January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the Centre is set to come up with a new scheme to boost rooftop solar installations for 10 million households.
State-run REC will be the implementing agency of the scheme and will lend up to ₹1.2 trillion for the installation of rooftop solar panels.
Calling the rooftop solar plan a win-win proposition for the power sector, Anujesh Dwivedi, Partner, Deloitte India, said: “On one hand it will further renewable energy capacity installation in the country; and on the other hand it will help in addressing the chronic issue of poor financial viability and subsidy dependence of discoms.”
The interim budget also outlined a plan to provide viability gap funding (VGF) for 1 GW offshore wind capacity.
The VGF is expected to be provided to two sites off the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
The other models propose bidding processes for site exclusivity during survey periods, with or without guaranteed seabed rights.
She also mentioned a plan to set up capacity of 100 million tonnes for coal gasification and liquefaction by 2030 in a bid to reduce imports of natural gas, methanol, and ammonia. Last week, the Union cabinet approved a ₹8,500 crore VGF scheme for coal gasification.
The finance minister also said that the government would introduce phased mandates for blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes in a bid to move towards cleaner fuel.
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Published: 02 Feb 2024, 12:00 AM IST