After years of delay, a solar policy for Delhi has finally taken shape. Setting a target of generating 2 GW solar power by 2025, the Delhi government has now made it mandatory for all its buildings to install solar panels by 2020.
To start with, the Aam Aadmi Party government is going to install a 5 MW solar plant on the Delhi Secretariat building. “We have set a target of setting up a plant of 3 MW by next month. Tenders have already been floated under the RESCO model. The remaining 2 MW will be done by December,” said Satyendra Jain, Delhi’s Power Minister.
The draft solar policy, created by the Delhi government’s advisory body, Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC), has been uploaded on its website for public consultation since Thursday. The draft will be finalised and submitted to the Delhi government for approval of the Cabinet after 15 days.
“Delhi lacks land and so there is immense potential of rooftop solar energy. It has a capacity of 31 square kilometres to harness the solar energy. It will give solar energy a potential of 2.5 GW, of which 26 per cent areas is under the government, 25 per cent in commercial sector, and the largest of 49 per cent lies with domestic sector,” said Ashish Khetan, vice-chairperson, DDC. It is proposed to generate 1 GW by 2020 and double the generation by 2025, which is 21 per cent of the Capital’s peak power demand.
Mr. Khetan said, “The cost of setting up 1 KW solar system plant comes around Rs. 80,000. It requires an area of about 10 square metres (3m x 3.3m) and generates 1,300 KWH units per year. This will lead to saving of Rs. 11,500 a year for households’ generation.”
“So in seven years a family will recover the investment made for installation of solar panels. The average age of solar plant is 25 years, so a family can enjoy free electricity for 17-18 years,” he said. Payback time for commercial, industrial and the government is only 5.5 years and it will save Rs. 15,000 each year. The DDC has recommended no subsidies from the Delhi government and instead has strongly advocated performance-based incentives for households coming forward for installation of solar panels.
“If we give subsidy during the installation then there is no incentive to keep it operational, so we will give generation-based incentive. We will give Rs. 2 per solar energy unit in the domestic segment for three years. So more you generate more benefit you get,” Mr. Khetan said.
Welcoming the move, Greenpeace said, “Virtual net metering is truly a visionary proposal. The virtual net metering clause, when it comes into force, will help every resident in Delhi with a shared rooftop produce solar energy. By doing this they have provided a solution to one of the concerns which could block solar uptake in residential sector.”
The draft policy mandates deployment of solar plants on all government-owned rooftops in the next five years and requires the discoms to meet at least 75 per cent of their solar renewable purchase obligation (RPO) within Delhi.
