New Delhi: With an aim to generate more than 2,000 MW of solar energy in the national Capital by 2025, the Delhi government is laying out a comprehensive roadmap to encourage adoption of rooftop solar projects by the residential sector.
In order to achieve this goal and understand the opportunities and challenges in aggregating the consumer demand, the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Management Centre, Delhi's department of power, on Monday organised a consultation workshop “rooftop solar demand aggregation programme for domestic consumers”.
The workshop, supported by Sustainable Partnerships for Rooftop Solar Acceleration in Bharat, a World Bank-SBI Rooftop Solar Technical Assistance programme discussed the opportunities and challenges faced by Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) developers in setting up solar rooftop projects in the city.
In his address, Delhi power minister Satyendar Jain said: "It is the endeavour of the AAP government to promote the use of renewable energy by all sectors.
"The residential sector is a key component in an urban setup like Delhi and we are exploring ways and means to make it easy for this sector to adopt rooftop solar. The RESCO model enables this by minimising capital expenditure for homeowners and RWAs. The Delhi Government's aim is to generate 1000 MW by 2020 and 2000 MW by 2025 through Rooftop Solar Installations."
"In line with the central government's mission, the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is launching a Solar Rooftop Demand Aggregation Program for Domestic Customers. The demand aggregation programme will benefit customers including residential, schools, hospitals, and municipal segments with an expected aggregated demand of 40 MW through RESCO mode," a statement from Delhi Government said.
A round table discussion was held that focused on the aspect of demand aggregation. During this session lenders and RESCOs discussed challenges of rooftop solar financing and implementation, as well as potential solutions. The discussion touched upon issues such as one-stop solution and single window approvals, the risks involved for RESCOs, lenders and consumers, access to financing (costs and need for collaterals). After the roundtable, the Regulatory Authority (DERC) presented its perspective on rooftop solar in Delhi, followed by the concluding address by Mukesh Prasad, Special Secretary, Department of Power, Delhi government.
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