NEW DELHI: Gujarat, Maharashtra and UP have emerged as frontrunners in rooftop solar installations, even as over 23 lakh rooftop solar systems (RTS) were installed across the country in the last two years under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.Launched on Feb 13, 2024, with a financial outlay of Rs 75,021 crore, the scheme aims to install RTS in one crore households by March 2027. The Centre provides a one-time financial assistance of up to Rs 78,000 per household, while several states offer additional subsidies.According to the national portal, 23,68,383 systems with an aggregate capacity of about 8,691 MW have been installed till Feb 13 this year. Govt has released Rs 16,932.4 crore in subsidies.Under the scheme, a 3-kW solar plant can generate about 300 units of electricity per month — enough to reduce the bill to zero if consumption stays within that limit. More than 12.5 lakh consumers have received zero electricity bills in at least one month since the launch.The number of installations is estimated to be close to three million when statelevel subsidy programmes are included.Gujarat leads with nearly 5.6 lakh installations, followed by Maharashtra (4.5 lakh), UP (3.7 lakh) and Kerala (1.9 lakh). Adoption remains low in the Northeast: Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura together account for only 4,174 installations. Delhi, Goa, West Bengal and Chandigarh also have recorded modest numbers, with 6,209, 1,721, 1,265 and 1,050 installations, respectively.Govt acknowledged that nearly three-fourths of installations are concentrated in 1011 states. Many states are yet to notify virtual net-metering guidelines that allow consumers to feed surplus power into the grid and receive payment. “This is a model with a customer-first approach. It has become immensely popular,” said JVN Subramanyam, joint secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy.
