Budget 2024: Renewable Energy Industry Hails Government's Big Push For Rooftop Solarisation
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who presented her sixth Budget on Thursday announced that one crore households in the country will get 300 units of free electricity through rooftop solarisation.
According to Sitharaman, the initiative, under Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana will help households to save ?15,000-18,000 annually.
Benefits for households from rooftop solarisation
¡°Through rooftop solarisation, one crore households will be enabled to obtain up to 300 units of free electricity every month. This scheme follows the resolve of (the) Prime Minister on the historic day of consecration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya,¡± the Finance Minister said.
The expected benefits include savings up to ?15,000-18,000 annually for households from free solar electricity and selling the surplus to the distribution companies, she added.
Will help in India's push for clean energy
According to the renewable energy industry, the government's focus on solar will not only enhance energy security and promote clean energy accessibility but also trigger a technology revolution, boosted by a Rs 1 lakh crore corpus for research and development.
Industry leaders react
"The 2024 budget is a highly forward-looking budget with a huge emphasis on Renewable Energy in general and Solar Energy in particular. The Hon¡¯ble Finance Minister has taken a huge step forward by budgeting for Rooftop Solar on 1 crore households, under which the households will get up to 300 units of free solar electricity. It will have a net positive effect on domestic solar module manufacturing as well, with the ALMM being reinstated in April. This will not only create a huge momentum in the Indian Solar Industry but will also re-emphasis the importance of Solar energy in a commoner¡¯s life and propel the country towards achieving Net Zero targets sooner?than?expected," Gautam Mohanka, CEO of Gautam Solar, said.
"This visionary initiative is a testament to India's commitment to harnessing clean energy for the masses. By enabling one crore households to receive up to 300 units of free electricity monthly, the government is not only uplifting lives but also steering the nation towards a greener and more sustainable future," Rohit Tikku, CEO of Bluebird Solar, said.
Support EV infrastructure
Other than providing households with 300 units of free electricity, the scheme will also aid the charging of electric vehicles; entrepreneurship opportunities for a large number of vendors for supply and installation and employment opportunities for the youth with technical skills in manufacturing, installation, and maintenance.
According to the Central Electricity Authority data, India has a solar energy-installed generation capacity of over 73 GW.
Free electricity is not the solution
While the industry hailed the Finance Ministry's announcement, Dr. Chetan Singh Solanki, a climate change and solar energy campaigner said that free electricity is not the solution.
"Free electricity of any type, even if it is coming from solar is dangerous, because it encourages everyone to misuse and inefficiently use energy. Any energy generation and consumption will have some impact on the environment, even if it is from solar. Therefore rather than making electricity free, it will be good if the government gives them rebates on electricity bills. Then people are going to be more sensible in consuming?energy," Prof. Solanki said.
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