India Needs to Encourage Solar Rooftop Amid Residential, Industrial Users: WRI India Report

India needs to prioritize solar rooftop among residential and industrial users for accomplishing its 100GW solar energy target by 2022, a report said. Demand aggregation mechanism' could help fast-track energy efficiency and scale up the positioning of solar power in residential apartment complexes and MSMEs, as per World Resource Institute (WRI) India.

"For India to achieve its 100 GW solar energy target in just two years, by 2022, and to emerge as a leader in climate action, it needs to prioritize solar rooftop photovoltaic (PV) among two key users - residential buildings and the industrial sector," the WRI India said in an announcement.

The institute released two research papers -- Assessing Clean Energy Opportunities Through Demand Aggregation in Bengaluru's Apartment Buildings; and Implementing Demand Aggregation for Rooftop Solar Systems in Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Clusters -- that are based on case studies in Bengaluru's fast developing residential hubs, and the industrial clusters of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The paper based on research steered in 10 existing residential apartment complexes in Bengaluru between June 2017 and December 2018 revealed that substantial energy consumption was built into the provision and maintenance of the 'common area facilities' of such complexes.

Common areas include public areas in residential societies, like building compounds, playgrounds, gyms, society offices, floor landings, etc. Residents in apartment complexes use these common services that run on electricity.

In a way, common services signify "aggregated demand'' for energy in the complex. Since these services are managed by a collective of residents, there are opportunities for these entities to familiarize solar energy generation and energy efficiency measures in common areas.

During the study, the Technology Informatics Design Endeavor (TIDE) and WRI India worked with 10 housing societies. To get a broader perspective on the barriers to implementing clean energy projects in apartment complexes, the study also engaged with EE and solar rooftop vendors and service providers, through semi-structured interviews, meetings and interactions on different platforms.

The analysis revealed that the housing societies or similar residents' groups could play a major role in ensuring the acceptance of rooftop solar in residential complexes in cities like Bengaluru.