Boost to rooftop solar power

KOLKATA: The state government is set to introduce a policy that will encourage households and other buildings—institutional and commercial—to install rooftop solar plants and do their bit in reducing carbon footprint.
Speaking to TOI on Thursday, state power and non-conventional energy sources minister Manish Gupta said a draft document on net metering for grid interactive rooftop solar photo voltaic (SPV) power plants is ready and the policy is likely to be announced in June.Sources said the UK government had helped the state develop the solar scheme.
Net metering is a billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid. If a residential customer has a PV system on the home's rooftop, it may generate more electricity than the home uses during daylight hours. If the home is net-metered, the electricity meter will run backwards to provide a credit against what electricity is consumed at night or other periods where the home's electricity use exceeds the system's output. Customers are only billed for their net energy use.
The policy will encourage consumers in Kolkata, Howrah and New Town to set up rooftop solar PV up to 90% of their sanctioned load. The system needs to be at least 1 kWp and can go up to a maximum of 1 MWp.
The electricity generated from the system will be primarily used to meet the rooftop owner’s internal electricity needs and excess generation fed into the grid to meet nearby consumer loads. Electricity distribution firms—CESC for Kolkata and Howrah town, West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd for Salt Lake and New Town Electricity Supply Co Ltd for the satellite township—will provide the meters that can calculate net electricity consumed.
“Around 20% of electricity generated in the state is consumed by buildings. As urbanization grows, so will consumption by buildings. To meet this demand challenge, we will aggressively promote rooftop SPV units and expect them to meet a substantial portion of the future demand,” Gupta said.
He has an ambitious target of generating 100 MWp in three years and 200 MWp in five. In Kolkata, the annual increase in power demand is 6% or over 100 MW.
At present, the draft policy is being circulated among various government departments for consultation. Thereafter, it will be sent to the finance department for approval. Once it passes Amit Mitra's table, it will go to chief minister Mamata Banerjee before being placed at the cabinet for the formal nod. “The policy should be announced in June,” Gupta said.
To kick off the project, the government has initially proposed a generation incentive of 2-3 paisa per unit. This financial benefit, funded jointly by the Centre and state, will be passed to consumers via the power distribution company.
The entire process of applying for net metering as well as purchasing and installing SPV system can be done online. The power department will also list agencies though which consumers can install rooftop solar units.
A pilot project is currently underway at Udita, the condominium complex along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass with the ministry of non-renewable energy energy funding 30%, state power department contributing 20% and CESC giving another 20%.