{"id":922151,"date":"2026-07-24T06:16:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T11:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/24\/rooftop-solar-momentum-builds-in-india-but-growth-remains-uneven\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T06:16:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T11:16:29","slug":"rooftop-solar-momentum-builds-in-india-but-growth-remains-uneven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/24\/rooftop-solar-momentum-builds-in-india-but-growth-remains-uneven\/","title":{"rendered":"Rooftop solar momentum builds in India but growth remains uneven"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

According to\u00a0analyst firms Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research,\u00a0India deployed nearly 4.9GW of residential rooftop solar capacity in\u00a0H1 of\u00a02025<\/a>, equivalent to almost 45% of the nation\u2019s total installed residential rooftop solar base, driven by the\u00a0PMSGY.<\/p>\n

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), monthly rooftop installations have surged from\u00a0a mere\u00a07,000 before the scheme\u2019s introduction\u00a0to over 300,000,\u00a0while the time taken to add\u00a0a hundred thousand\u00a0beneficiary households has fallen from 118 days to fewer than eight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than four\u00a0million\u00a0households have already\u00a0benefited\u00a0from the programme, with over 6.5 million\u00a0applications currently in the pipeline and government projections targeting 7.5 million\u00a0households by the end of 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To understand what is driving this rapid shift\u2014 and whether the momentum can be sustained\u2014PV Tech\u00a0Premium<\/em>\u00a0speaks with Gaurav Upadhyay, energy finance specialist for India sustainable finance in South Asia\u00a0at\u00a0IEEFA, about the evolution of India\u2019s rooftop solar market, the role of PMSGY, financing dynamics and the challenges that still lie ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scaling residential solar in India\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Historically,\u00a0India\u00a0has prioritised utility-scale solar for its speed in delivering capacity via competitive auctions and attracting large-scale investment. Rooftop solar has lagged due to fragmentation and the complexity of reaching millions of consumers facing varied financial and administrative barriers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Upadhyay highlights the accelerating pace of residential solar expansion, arguing that,\u00a0\u201ctoday, the economics and policy environment are much more favourable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernment subsidies have reduced upfront costs, awareness has\u00a0increased substantially, and\u00a0installation procedures have become simpler. Rising electricity tariffs are also making self-generation increasingly attractive for households and businesses. As a result, rooftop solar is moving from an early-adopter technology to a mainstream consumer product.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s main target under PMSGY\u00a0is to install rooftop solar systems on ten million households\u00a0and achieve approximately 30GW of operational residential rooftop solar capacity by FY2027. The programme has an approved outlay of\u00a0INR750.21 billion (US$7.8 billion), making it one of the largest residential solar programmes globally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Upadhyay, rooftop\u00a0solar plays a unique role in India\u2019s clean energy transition because it complements utility-scale renewable energy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike large solar parks, rooftop systems require no\u00a0additional\u00a0land acquisition and generate electricity close to where it is consumed. This helps reduce transmission losses, lowers peak demand, and improves grid resilience. As India pursues its target of 500GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, distributed solar can become a critical pillar of the energy transition,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PMSGY yields strong demand, uneven execution\u00a0<\/h2>\n

PMSGY has\u00a0emerged\u00a0as a catalyst for India\u2019s rooftop solar market. Earlier, adoption was\u00a0largely confined\u00a0to commercial and industrial (C&I) users, with households deterred by high upfront costs and complex approvals.<\/p>\n

The scheme has since unlocked strong consumer demand, with 5.8 million applications received and 1.6 million installations completed by July 2025. Meanwhile subsidy disbursements exceeded INR 92.8 billion.<\/p>\n

Rooftop solar economics have strengthened, with subsidies of up to INR78,000 under PMSGY\u00a0reducing upfront costs. Payback periods are typically four to six years in higher-tariff states, but they can be longer elsewhere, while systems deliver 20\u201325 years of output. Savings are highest for high-consumption households, which offset more grid power and achieve faster returns.<\/p>\n

\u201cPMSGY\u00a0has created confidence across the value chain.\u00a0The national portal, direct benefit transfer\u00a0(DBT)\u00a0mechanism\u00a0and simplified procedures\u00a0have reduced many of the friction points that previously discouraged consumers,\u201d says Upadhyay.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, IEEFA\u2019s research shows that strong demand under PMSGY\u00a0has not consistently translated into installations. By July 2025, the scheme had received around 5.8 million applications, but only about 22.7% had been completed.\u00a0Additionally, performance varies sharply by state, with Gujarat and Kerala seeing more than 65% of their project applications approved\u2014a figure IEEFA calls \u2018installation to application ratio\u2019\u2014, while Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh posted ratios of 21.8% and 14.8%, respectively.<\/p>\n

Upadhyay attributes this disparity\u00a0to\u00a0\u201cstronger implementation frameworks, proactive\u00a0power distribution company (DISCOM)\u00a0engagement and higher consumer awareness, while several other states continue to lag.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, IEEFA highlights the need for greater regulatory consistency across net metering rules, approval timelines and DISCOM practices, alongside stronger financing ecosystems, improved consumer awareness, expanded installer training and more efficient grievance redressal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rooftop solar and DISCOMs\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Earlier, many DISCOMs had been cautious about rooftop solar as it displaces high-value electricity sales, particularly from commercial and industrial consumers. These segments typically pay tariffs above the cost of supply, cross-subsidising residential and agricultural users.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Upadhyay emphasises that with the\u00a0increased adoption of rooftop solar, \u201cDISCOMs risk losing some of their most profitable customers, which can further strain their financial position. This concern is particularly relevant given the\u00a0fragile fiscal condition of many state-owned DISCOMs<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the rooftop solar\u2013DISCOM relationship is gradually evolving. \u201cDistributed solar can reduce technical losses, ease peak demand, defer network upgrades and improve grid resilience by generating closer to load centres,\u201d\u00a0says Upadhyay \u201cUnder PMSGY, it can also moderate residential demand growth and limit the need for new capacity additions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key challenges and the road ahead\u00a0<\/h2>\n

While PMSGY has driven momentum, financing constraints<\/a>, particularly for low- and middle-income households, continue to pose the biggest barrier, Upadhyay notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile public sector banks offer lower rates but slower approvals,\u00a0non-banking financial companies (NBFCs)\u00a0provide faster credit at higher costs,\u201d says the analyst. \u201cConsumer awareness\u00a0also\u00a0remains\u00a0uneven, especially in smaller cities and rural areas, where many households are still unfamiliar with financing options, system performance and installation processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another challenge is scaling the installer ecosystem to match rapid demand, including quality assurance and after-sales service. Persistent delays in net metering, inspections and commissioning, along with regulatory inconsistencies, continue to create uncertainty, while supply chain constraints and domestic manufacturing requirements can also\u00a0impact\u00a0timelines and equipment availability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u00a0argues that, looking ahead, \u201cgrid integration and regulatory innovation will be key to scaling distributed solar. This will require smarter distribution networks, digital monitoring and storage, alongside expanded models such as virtual and group net metering, community solar and RESCO frameworks to reach apartments, tenants and households without suitable rooftops. Addressing these gaps will be critical to converting strong demand into sustained deployment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next phase of growth will require policy innovation beyond conventional rooftop models. Virtual and group net metering can help apartment residents, tenants, and small businesses access solar from off-site generation, expanding the addressable market and already showing promise in states such as Maharashtra.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By 2030, rooftop solar is set to play a key role in India\u2019s distributed energy mix alongside utility-scale projects. It offers distinct advantages, including lower bills, reduced transmission losses, improved energy security, and greater consumer empowerment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe success of the next phase will depend less on subsidies and more on execution,\u201d concludes Upadhyay.\u00a0\u201cFaster approvals, stronger financing ecosystems, improved installer quality, supportive state policies, and deeper integration with battery storage and smart-grid technologies will\u00a0determine\u00a0whether rooftop solar achieves its full potential. If these elements come together, rooftop solar could become one of the most visible and inclusive aspects of India\u2019s clean energy transition.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to\u00a0analyst firms Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research,\u00a0India deployed nearly 4.9GW of residential rooftop solar capacity in\u00a0H1 of\u00a02025, equivalent to almost 45% of the nation\u2019s total installed residential rooftop solar base, driven by the\u00a0PMSGY. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), monthly rooftop installations have surged<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":922152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31746,3945],"tags":[135510,7566],"class_list":["post-922151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rooftop","category-solar","tag-rooftop","tag-solar"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=922151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=922151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}