The state government of Gujarat has announced a new rooftop power policy for residential, commercial and industrial units.
The new policy will be valid till March 31, 2015, according to a report in Times of India, and target 10,000 rooftop installations having about 20 mega watt (MW) of installed capacity on residential buildings and another 20 MW on non-residential buildings, including industrial, commercial, institutional and agricultural.
Gujarat has commissioned 852.31 MW of solar plants as on 31 March 2013 out of a total allotted capacity of 872.5. With over 852 MW solar plants commissioned so far, Gujarat is the biggest solar market in India and accounts for half of the nation’s capacity. The state has signed power purchase agreements with 88 solar projects totaling 971.5 megawatts.
Under the new rooftop power policy, the government will provide a subsidy of 40 percent or the maximum of Rs 32,000 per kilo watt (KW) for up to 2 KW, along with VAT exemption on purchase of equipment for residential rooftop photo voltaic (PV) systems, the report said.
In addition to the state subsidy, customers could also avail 30 percent central subsidy.
The program will be implemented with the help of channel partners selected by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). While the Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) will facilitate the channel partners in claiming the subsidy, all the applications will be routed through it to any avoid duplication of benefits.
As per the new policy, individual non-residential rooftop PV system capacity will be limited to generate up to the maximum of 6 percent of the consumer’s previous year’s energy consumption, up to the maximum installed capacity of 100 KW.
These rooftop PV systems will be fitted with a single bi-directional meter to measure the import and export of electricity. Power companies will charge the consumer on the ‘net’ consumption of electricity at the end of the billing cycle.
Also, in case a consumer is a net generator at the end of the billing cycle, the company will not be liable to pay to the consumer for any excess energy fed into the grid.”
Approximately 1 KW of solar PV installation will cost Rs 80,000 to 90,000 and generate 4 to 4.5 units per day. These installations could spared from 10 to 12 square meters.
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