Govt looking to scale up private investment in rooftop solar: Piyush Goyal

The government is looking for ways to scale up installation of solar rooftop power generating systems, particularly on industrial and commercial buildings, so that solar energy becomes a norm rather than exception, union minister of state for power, coal, new and renewable energy Piyush Goyal has said.

People can immensely benefit from solar roof top generators, the minister said, while technological innovations will find solutions for significant problem associated with grid integration and help clean energy to become a very robust element in India's power scenario, he said. ''We are committed to making rooftops happen'', he added.

The minister was speaking at a function to launch a report titled, `Scaling up Private Investment in Rooftop Solar,'' in New Delhi on Thursday.

The report is aimed at policy makers in central and state governments, regulators, utilities, investors, banks, the solar industry, the real estate industry, think tanks, local government bodies and others with an interest in the future of rooftop solar.

The authors estimate that India can double rooftop solar capacity by 2022 without any additional direct subsidy.

The report is the product of an in-depth study by the Solar Rooftop Policy on ways to increase private investment in rooftop solar in India. The report focuses on how solar on the roofs of business, institutions and homes can be scaled up to the government's target of installing 40 GW of rooftop solar capacity by 2022.

Rooftop solar will contribute to India's energy security and is an important part of achieving the Government's overall target of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022.

The report has been prepared by a project team with experts from four organisations, contributions from 20 organisations as coalition partners and consultations in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad and in close cooperation with the ministry of new and renewable energy.

The coalition has been funded by the Nand and Jeet Khemka Foundation, The UK Department for International Development, The Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation and The Climate Group.