Data from the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) informs that of 1,095 megawatt (MW) rooftop solar capacity in India, Maharashtra leads the way with maximum number of installations and capacity at 145.09MW.
In a recent report, Hindustan Times has stated that officials said 60 percent installations are from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad and remaining from rural areas across the state that have adopted solar in the form of water heaters.
A 2017 study by the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IITB) and think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) found that Mumbai has the potential to generate 1.72gigawatt peak (GWp) solar power per annum through photovoltaic (solar) panels installed atop buildings. This means solar energy can take care of half of Mumbai’s power needs, which has an annual demand of around 3.4gigawatt. Currently, the city generates only 5megawatt peak power (MWp) solar energy — 0.3% of its potential.
Gujarat was a close second to Maharashtra in the list with 136.21MW capacity, followed by Tamil Nadu (123.91MW), Karnataka (104.82MW), Rajasthan (78.94MW) and Haryana (76.95MW).
On Thursday RK Singh, minister of state, MNRE stated that the state-wise grid connected rooftop solar power plant capacity in India is getting stronger each day. He further informed that over the past two years, ₹842 crore has been released to state governments and implementing agencies to install such rooftop plants.
Officials in the state government said while it was good news that Mahrashtra leads the way, more needs to be done. “We have already moved in the direction to adopt pilot villages and convert them completely to solar, including cooking, water heating and common lighting. Once this happens, we might be able to eliminate our fossil fuel need,” said Satish Gavai, additional chief secretary, industries, energy and labour department.
