The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has clarified that there will be a uniform rate of central financial assistance (CFA) for the installation of residential rooftop solar (RTS) projects under the second phase of the programme.

The clarification came after the Ministry got representations from various stakeholders that currently there are two modes for determining the rates. One is rates discovered and vendors empanelled by Discoms and state implementing agencies (SIAs) through the tendering process, while the other is through the National Portal for Rooftop Solar.

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“These two modes are creating confusion amongst consumers mainly due to differences in CFA rates. After having careful examination and to avoid ambiguity, it has been decided that uniform and fixed CFA as applicable under simplified procedure will be applicable for both the implementation modes,” MNRE clarified.

These steps are aimed at increasing the adoption of residential RTS projects. Against the target to achieve 40 gigawatts (GW) of RTS capacity by December 2022, 7.65 GW RTS capacity has been achieved.

RTS rates

For individual households, the CFA is ₹14,588 per kilowatt (kW) for the first 3 kW, and for capacity beyond 3 kW and up to 10 kW, it is ₹7,294 per kW. For the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and Group Housing Societies (GHS), the rate is ₹7,294 per kW for common facilities up to 500 kWp at a rate of 10 kWp per house.

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The rates are higher for residential consumers of North Eastern states including Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, UT of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The rates for an individual household for the first 3 kW is ₹17,662 per kW and for RTS capacity beyond 3 kW and up to 10 kW, the CFA is at ₹8,831 a kW. Similarly, for RWAs and GHS, the rate is fixed at ₹8,831 per kW for common facilities up to 500 kWp at 10 kWp per house.

RTS scheme

In June 2015, the government approved scaling up of grid-connected solar power projects with capacity targets under the National Solar Mission (NSM) from 20,000 MW to 1,00,000 MW by 2022, of which 40,000 MW was to be achieved through grid connected RTS projects.

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In December 2015, Phase-1 of the RTS programme was approved targeting 2,100 MW capacity addition by 2019-20 through CFA. Against this target, as of December 2021, an aggregate capacity of 2,098 MW was sanctioned of which 1,319 MW was reported to be achieved.

Subsequently, in March 2019, Phase-2 of the programme with two components was launched. Under component A, the ministry aims to set up 4,000 MW capacity in the residential sector with CFA, while under component-B, the target is to incentivise Discoms based on achievement towards an initial 18,000 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar plants.

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