In Data: Why India's rooftop solar revolution faces challenges

India is hoping billions of dollars in subsidies will encourage more people to install solar panels on their rooftops, part of a bid to triple its capacity for renewable energy.

So far, the project has failed to gain significant traction, with installed capacity on buildings hitting 11 gigawatts (GW) by end-2023, most from commercial and industrial properties.

Just 4 GW came from photovoltaic panels on residential homes, official data in June showed.

By 2026, the governments wants rooftop solar capacity to reach 100 GW, of which 40 GW is seen coming from residences, in a bid to reduce India’s reliance on coal and obtain half of its electricity from renewable sources.

A programme launched in February provides 75 billion rupees ($9 billion) in subsidies to install grid-connected rooftop solar systems on about 10 million homes, which would generate 30 GW of solar capacity.

The scheme would give homeowners a maximum of 60 percent subsidy towards the cost of installing panels in a green deal that it says would reap free energy.

Other challenges persist.

India’s push for more solar power is patchy across the regions, with most domestic solar rooftop energy concentrated in the south and west. These areas are already home to more than 70% of the country’s large-scale solar-energy production facilities.

India’s east, where much of the country’s coal is extracted and which risks more intense hardship from a switch to renewable energy, has little solar capacity coming online.

In addition to regional inequities, energy experts say India's solar sector is hampered by a shortage of the skilled workers and facilities needed to make, install and service solar panels.

(Reporting by Bhasker Tripathi; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths.)