Rooftop Solar

In a solar rooftop system, the solar panels are installed on the roof of any residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings. This can be of two types (i) Solar Rooftop System with storage facility using battery, and (ii) Grid Connected Solar Rooftop System.

What is a Grid Connected Solar Rooftop System?

In a grid-connected rooftop or small SPV system, the DC power generated from the SPV panel is converted to AC power using a power conditioning unit. It is fed to the grid either of 33 kV/11 kV three phase lines or of 440/220 Volt three/single phase lines depending on the capacity of the system installed at the institution/commercial establishment or residential complex and the regulatory framework specified for respective States.

 
These systems generate power during the daytime which is utilized fully by powering captive loads and feeding excess power to the grid as long as the grid is available. In cases, where solar power is not sufficient due to cloud cover etc., the captive loads are served by drawing power from the grid.

What efforts the Government is making to provide loans for solar rooftop systems?

Department of Financial Services has instructed all Public Sector Banks to encourage home loan/ home improvement loan seekers to install rooftop solar PV plants and include the cost of the system in their home loan proposals. So far, nine PSBs namely Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, State Bank of India, Dena Bank, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Allahabad Bank, Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank have given instructions to extend loans for Grid Interactive Rooftop Solar PV Plants as home loan/ home improvement loan.

What are the advantages of a Grid-Connected Rooftop Solar System?

• Electricity generation at the consumption centre and hence Savings in transmission and distribution losses
• Low gestation time
• No requirement for additional land 
• Improvement of tail-end grid voltages and reduction in system congestion with higher self-consumption of solar electricity
• Local employment generation
  

What is the average cost of grid-connected rooftop solar systems?

The average cost of grid-connected rooftop solar systems is about Rs. 60 per watt or Rs. 8.0 crore per MWp capacity.