We Welcome The Govt Decision For 2nd Phase of RTS Scheme: Praveer Sinha

Heavy front-ended investment of RTS has been the single biggest challenge holding back its deeper penetration, particularly in rural and semi-urban parts of the country, Sinha said.

In a bid to achieve the ambitious targets of 40 GW cumulative capacity from Rooftop Solar (RTS) Projects by 2022, the government has provided its consent for the Phase-II of grid-connected rooftop solar programme.

As per the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the programme will be implemented with total central financial support of Rs 11,814 crore.

Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power Renewables gives his take on the latest development, “Tata Power welcomes this decision. The approval for the second phase of grid-connected rooftop solar (RTS) programme will give a big push for achieving a total targeted installation of 40 GW of rooftop solar (RTS) by 2022. The second phase that seeks to extend financial support of between 20-40% of the cost depending on the size of the installation is a crucial element of the policy decision by the government announced today.”

Further, in this second phase programme, the Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for the residential sector has been restructured with the availability of 40 percent CFA for RTS systems up to 3 kW capacity and 20 percent for RTS system capacity beyond 3 kW and up to 10 kW.

Besides, for Group Housing Societies/Residential Welfare Associations (GHS/RAW), the CFA will be limited to 20 percent for RTS plants for the supply of power to common facilities.

“Heavy front-ended investment of RTS has been the single biggest challenge holding back its deeper penetration, particularly in rural and semi-urban parts of the country. RTS not only offers a cleaner source of energy to the masses but also helps in reducing transmission and distribution losses in the Indian power sector, which is currently around 20%. The latest policy initiative that offers financial assistance for Group Housing Societies and Residential Welfare Associations should also help better adoption of RTS among residential power consumers, which is only around 9% to the total RTS installed in the country (against almost 70% by industrial and commercial users).”

“As a leading in RTS service provider, with nearly 3 decades of experience (since 1991), the company’s services are already available in Delhi, Mumbai, Ajmer, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar with a cumulative installation of over 250 MW and plan to expand across India in FY20,” Sinha added.