The state energy department on Friday said citizens going for roof top solar power generation could get their system connected to the grid or remain off the grid.
While in the first option the power generated by the solar panels will be directly injected to the grid and requires no battery storage at the consumer end unlike in off-grid solar power units. The subsidy, however, would be extended to both the options, according to M Sahoo, Principal secretary of the energy department.
"Germany has a 25,000Mw of installed capacity in rooftop solar power systems. Therefore, the potential here is very large," he said.
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However, there are a couple of constraints in adopting the net metering model. Firstly grid connectivity will be provided only to those domestic services that have 3-phase connections. Such connections account for only 20 per cent of the domestic connections even in a city like Hyderabad. The consumer will have to pay higher minimum charges. In villages net metering is not a viable option at this point as rural areas continue to face day time power cuts, officials say.