Understanding Solar Subsidy in Gujarat

Gujarat has always been at the forefront of India's solar adoption journey. The residents of Gujarat understood quite early on how wise an investment in solar could be. Currently, Gujarat leads the solar adoption with a total 14.5gigawatts of installed solar capacity. As of October 2024, Gujarat leads the States in terms of installed rooftop solar capacity under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli scheme with 4337.25 MW, followed by Maharashtra at 2651.81MW, and Rajasthan at 1294.57 MW.

Gujarat owes the success of solar penetration to the Surya Gujarat scheme that gave subsidies of up to 40% for systems up to 3 kW from2019-2022. As of today, Residents in Gujarat can avail the subsidy from PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli scheme led by the central government.

Subsidy details

The Government of India approved the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana on 29th February 2024 to increase the share of solar rooftop capacity and empower residential households to generate their own electricity. The scheme has an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore and is to be implemented till FY 2026-27.

Note: The subsidy can be availed for solar rooftop installations only by residential consumers and housing societies and not by any commercial establishment.

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Let us see, the overall benefits from the Subsidy:

For Group Housing Societies (GHS) /Residential Welfare Associations (RWA), the upper limit of subsidy -supported Rooftop solar capacity is inclusive of individual rooftop plants installed by individual residents in the GHS/RWA. The GHS/RWA connection eligible under the scheme shall be dedicated only to common facilities like common lighting, water pumps, etc.

Eligibility

• Indian citizenship
• Own a house with a roof suitable for installing solar panels
• Valid electricity connection.
• Has Not availed solar subsidy before.
• The solar system installation must be done through an empaneled vendor.
• The solar system should be an On-Grid system.

For housing societies and residential welfare associations (RWAs)

• Society registration papers and proof of ownership.
• Identification and verification of the residing members.
• Address verification.
•  Electricity bills of all flats.
• Architectural plans of the property.
• Installation agreements with the empaneled solar vendors.

Eligibility of the type of installations

Subsidy is applicable only if the grid-connected solar plant is installed on a roof/terrace/balcony/elevated structure.

1. The subsidy will be calculated considering the DC capacity of the plant which depends on the rating and number of solar panels and not on the size of the inverter.
2. Solar panels used in the installation must satisfy the Domestic Content Requirement condition i.e., domestically manufactured modules manufactured from domestically manufactured cells i.e. they should be “Made in India”, in order to avail subsidy.
3. A rooftop solar installation shall be eligible for subsidy only once after installation. If an already installed rooftop solar is shifted/relocated to a new location, such a system shall not be eligible for subsidy under the scheme.

How to Apply

Step: 1

Register in the portal https://www.pmsuryaghar.gov.in/consumerLogin with the following:

• Select your State &Electricity Distribution Company (say DGVCL/UGVCL/MGVCL/PGVCL/Torrent)  
• Enter your Electricity Consumer Number, Mobile Number & Email

The portal will assign the application with a unique application ID.

Step: 2

• Login with your Consumer Number & Mobile Number and enter the OTP received on your mobile number.
• Apply for the Rooftop solar by entering your category as residential and then enter the capacity of the planned solar rooftop plant. You will also need to enter the coordinates (Latitude and Longitude) of your house. You can check your coordinates in the following steps:

1. Turn On Location on your mobile phone while being in the house.
2. Go to Google Maps.
3. Long press on the blue dot (current location) visible on the screen
4. Scroll down and you will find the house coordinates

• Upload your electricity bill in the next step.
• Enter your bank details and upload either cancelled cheque/Bank Passbook copy/Bank E-Statement/Group Bank Account.
• Ensure the name on the bank details and the electricity bill is the same.

Step: 3  

• If the rooftop solar plant is less than 10kW, then the feasibility is auto approved.
• If the rooftop solar plant is >10kW, then the DISCOM will approve the feasibility within 15 days of registration.
• Once you get the feasibility approval, get the plant installed by any of the registered vendors in your DISCOM
• Choose a vendor from the empaneled vendor list on the website.
• Once the vendor is selected, the vendor can fill in the project details in the portal.

Step: 4

• Once installation is completed submit the plant details and apply for a net meter.
• GPS Tagged Photographs of the Pre-Installation Site and Completed Installation: The photos of Pre-Installation Site and installed RTS along with geo-coordinates shall be uploaded on the National Portal.
• In this case, your vendor can also log in and fill in the necessary details as per the guidelines.

Step: 5

• Meter Installation and Agreement: Once the installation is complete and a metering agreement is signed between you and the DISCOM which must be uploaded on the Portal, the net- meter shall be installed.
• The subsidy will be processed only after the DISCOM has physically verified the system, the appropriate agreements have been signed, and the system has been commissioned by the installer after all due approvals of the DISCOM.
• A Commissioning certificate will be generated from the portal, after the installation of the net meter and inspection by DISCOM. DISCOM Report (DR): The DR will be filled by the DISCOM representative and generated through the National Portal digitally.

Step: 6

• Once you get the commissioning report. Click on the redeem option in the portal. You will receive your subsidy in your bank account within 30 days.
• Bank Account Details: All consumer details including bank account information and a cancelled cheque image/bank e-statement file/passbook scan or any other electronic document certifying that the bank account number is held by the concerned consumer must be submitted on the National Portal by the consumer. The NPIA shall verify the account information submitted.

Disbursement of subsidy

• As a consumer, you will be required to pay the full cost of the system initially and the subsidy will be credited to their bank account via Direct Benefit Transfer from the government.
• The release of the subsidy shall be operationalized through an e-token.
• After the necessary documents have been uploaded and inspection by the DISCOM (say DGVCL/UGVCL/MGVCL/PGVCL/Torrent) has been completed, the national program me implementation agency (NPIA) will assess the documents and approve the release of subsidy through the e-token, which will be activated with the eligible subsidy.
• You can redeem the e-token on the portal, resulting in transfer of CFA/subsidy to your bank account within 15 days of approval by the concerned DISCOM.

Solar Loan

• In case you have opted for a loan to finance the rooftop solar installation, your profile shall also include the loan account details. On redemption of the e-token in such cases, the subsidy will be transferred to the loan account. If the subsidy exceeds the loan amount drawn, the excess amount will be disbursed to your bank account.

Financing Support

Also, if upfront investment is a barrier towards your solar journey, loans, and financing solutions can also be availed through companies like Aerem.

At Aerem, you can apply for loan through the Aerem app which offers loans

• Up to 90% of project cost
• 5-year tenure and collateral free
• Attractive Interest Rates
• Disbursement within 12 hours
• Loan tracking on the Aerem App

The entire process is digital through the Aerem app providing a hassle-free loan application. Aerem is also the only RBI-licensed solar-focused NBFC in India doing business with Aerem absolutely trustworthy, reliable, and dependable. Also, with the Aerem app you can track the progress of the solar installation digitally.

Financing your rooftop solar plant can reduce the burden of upfront cost and you can start saving immediately with the installation of the plant. Since the loans are collateral free and the loan is disbursed within hours, it makes adoption of solar rooftop very easy.

Savings expected

Conclusion

Thanks to the Solar Rooftop National Rooftop portal, claiming subsidies has never been simpler. These subsidies are directly transferred to the consumer's bank account, making the installation of rooftop solar plants much more affordable and accessible.

With the availability of various subsidy and financing options, investing in solar energy is not just a smart financial decision, but also a positive contribution towards the environment.

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