The case for rooftop solar

    Indians who track infrastructure development in the country got a stark reminder of the ground yet to be covered when half the country was left with no electricity. Last week's blackouts may have been caused by problems in the grid. The sources of energy are a cause for concern too.

    Thermal power stations suffer from poor supply of coal leading to many of them remaining idle. When monsoons are deficient the hydro power capacity is hurt. Capacity addition in wind power is showing promise, but has a long way to fulfill it's potential. Solar however, is yet a vastly untapped source.

    I was in southern Germany a couple of weeks ago on vacation. Homes like these in the pictures below(taken during the trip) were all too common, a noticeably large percentage of homes with solar panels installed on their rooftops.

    North India gets about 300 clear sunny days in a year. and in the south that number is around 250 days a year. In many cities, solar powered water heaters are mandatory for new homes. Costs of the panels have been in steady decline in the last three years. Rooftop solar power should have a greater role in India's energy portfolio. India should set up a feed in tariff regime, which would allow homeowners to sell excess power back to the grid(Although the grid needs to be more robust to support feed in power).

   Sure, India cannot afford the levels of subsidy offered by an industrialized country like Germany. At the moment, solar power is still expensive . By having a more conducive regulatory regime, we may well unlock Indians' now famous ability at jugaad innovation in building cheaper systems. It is not wise for a government to drive industrial policy. Promoting solar energy, especially rooftop solar may just be a reasonable exception in India.