Road map for a solar surge

With the urban focus of India's solar power policy encountering space limitations, the government should tap the enormous potential that exists in rural areas

In this decade India’s solar energy programme has grown exponentially. Solar power capacity, which was less than 1,000 Mw in 2010, when the National Solar Mission was launched, is now more than 26,000 Mw. But India’s success in solar power suffers from a major distortion. The bulk of the solar power capacity has been created through large competitively selected solar projects which feed electricity into the grid. On the other hand, decentralised solar power capacity, including rooftop, is still less than 4,000 Mw. 

This is the exact opposite of what the lower cost option is. Decentralised rooftop solar power does not