The Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA), has facilitated power purchase agreements (PPA) for 3.75 MW of rooftop solar projects with five universities in Haryana at a tariff of ₹3.33 (~$0.046)/kWh for 25 years. The rooftop solar projects are also eligible for a 25% subsidy.

These five universities include; Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar; Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila University, Sonipat; Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Science, Rohtak; J.C. Bose University of Science & Technology, YMCA, Faridabad; and Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal.

The projects will be implemented under the grid-connected rooftop solar program for government buildings under the RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) model.

The RESCO or Renewable Energy Service Company model is a system where the developer owns the solar project, and the consumer only has to pay for the energy generated.

The total capacity for each university is mentioned in the table below.

In February 2019, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) had issued a request for selection (RfS) for the implementation of 97.5 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects for government buildings in different states and union territories via CAPEX or RESCO model, under global competitive bidding. In January 2020, the list of successful bidders was announced. The total capacity of 97.5 MW was divided into three categories. The first category for 10 MW under the CAPEX Model (Part-A), the second for 85 MW for RESCO Model (Part-B), and the third for 2.5 MW under the CAPEX Model (Part-C).

A HAREDA official told Mercom that Sukhbir Agro, HFM Solar, and SunSource were some of the empanelled vendors selected in the SECI auction. HAREDA provided locations to each company to implement the rooftop projects under the RESCO model. HAREDA facilitated the program by signing PPAs with the universities.

In January this year, The Maharaja Agrasen Medical College at Agroha, Haryana, had floated a tender to enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) for power from a 1 MW of rooftop solar system under the RESCO model.

The rooftop solar segment that was initially considered as a high-growth potential has been lagging due to various policy and adoption constraints. Mercom’s premium event Mercom India Solar Summit, to be held virtually on April 8th and 9th, has an exclusive session to discuss ‘Can Rooftop Solar Come out of Ground Mount’s Shadow and Be The Next Big Thing?’. You can click here to register for the event.