Scaling Rooftop Solar in India

This case study examines the 'Varanasi model' for scaling rooftop solar (RTS) in India under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. By coordinating state, district, and city administrations with utilities and banks, Varanasi significantly increased RTS installations between February and December 2024, providing a blueprint for other Indian districts to achieve renewable energy targets.

• Varanasi has seen rapid growth in rooftop solar (RTS) installations under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, with the number of systems increasing more than 15 times to nearly 10,000 by December 2024. The city has a target to solarize 75,000 households.
• The PM Surya Ghar Program, combined with additional state subsidies in Uttar Pradesh, allows consumers installing RTS systems up to 3 kW to receive a capital subsidy exceeding 60%, which is the highest among Indian states.
• The 'Varanasi model' utilizes a structured monitoring and outreach system, including the assignment of residential RTS targets to Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PUVVNL) Discom divisions and government departments, and the use of a 'Surya Rath' mobile information hub for consumer awareness.
• To streamline adoption, the model reduces financial and technical barriers by utilizing the Jan Samarth portal for low-interest loans, exempting collateral for loans up to ₹200,000 (US$2,368), and removing the requirement for technical feasibility reports (TFR) for systems up to 10 kW.
• The state has expanded its vendor base from approximately 450 to over 1,000 in six months to accelerate deployment and create employment.

APA

Dubey, S. D., Gupta, A., Ningthoujam, J., Sharma, S., Singh, N., & Tripathi, U. N. (2025). Scaling Rooftop Solar in India. RMI. https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2025/02/Varanasi-solar-brief_web.pdf

Chicago

Dubey, Shyam Dhar, Arjun Gupta, Jagabanta Ningthoujam, Shilpi Sharma, Nuvodita Singh, and Upkari Nath Tripathi. Scaling Rooftop Solar in India. RMI, 2025. https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2025/02/Varanasi-solar-brief_web.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dubey |first1=Shyam Dhar |last2=Gupta |first2=Arjun |last3=Ningthoujam |first3=Jagabanta |last4=Sharma |first4=Shilpi |last5=Singh |first5=Nuvodita |last6=Tripathi |first6=Upkari Nath |title=Scaling Rooftop Solar in India |publisher=RMI |date=February 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2025/02/Varanasi-solar-brief_web.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dubey2025scaling, author = {Dubey, Shyam Dhar and Gupta, Arjun and Ningthoujam, Jagabanta and Sharma, Shilpi and Singh, Nuvodita and Tripathi, Upkari Nath}, title = {{Scaling Rooftop Solar in India}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2025/02/Varanasi-solar-brief_web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }