Impact of Strategic Government Support for Promoting Solar Residential Rooftop Systems SRRSs A Study of States of Himachal Pradesh and Delhi

Abstract

The world realized that the time has come to switch over to renewable energy sources. Solar energy has become first preference among various renewable sources. Accordingly, India has planned to switch over to the electricity production through solar energy. Therefore, plans have been prepared by the Government of India to achieve the target solar installations in a phased manner. India has set a target of 100 GW of solar power installations by 2022. Out of 100 GW, 40 GW has to be achieved through solar rooftop installations which is a big challenge. The Central and state governments have formulated policies and announced subsidies and incentives to encourage the promotion of SRRSs among residents. The study has been undertaken about the SRRSs in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh states. In this study, Delhi state has been selected from general category states and Himachal Pradesh has been picked up from special category states which attracts 70 percent subsidy for SRRSs installation against 30 percent subsidy in Delhi. The research measures the awareness among people about the SRRSs, strategic review of government policies of both the states, and the benefits/incentives being provided by governments along with the identification of the barriers being faced by the residents of municipal corporations of Delhi and Himachal Pradesh towards the adoption of SRRSs. The study has also incorporated the issues/gaps in government schemes/incentives observed by relevant industry associations. Apart from determining the awareness levels of people of Himachal Pradesh and Delhi regarding SRRSs, government solar policies and incentives along with the identification of barriers for the adoption of SRRSs through the use of appropriate statistical tools; the strategic study about government policies has also been done through SWOT, PEST and environmental analysis.