The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued new and simplified central financial assistance (CFA) calculations for rooftop solar systems installed by residential consumers. The ministry also launched a portal to enable transparent processing of the subsidy.

The central government subsidy is available only to those who register on the national portal by December 31, 2022. It will be released after clearance by the inspecting authority (the regional power distribution company).

The national portal is part of the simplification procedure to register the subsidy applications and help track the bank transfer of subsidies to the residential consumers.

The subsidy calculation will now be on the capacity of the rooftop solar system instead of the earlier method based on the benchmark cost set every year for these consumers.

According to the new procedure, for up to a 3 kW rooftop solar system, a subsidy of ₹14,588 (~$185)/kW will be provided. Previously, according to the benchmark costs calculations set by MNRE, a 1 kW rooftop solar system would be granted a subsidy of ₹18,768 (~$237)/kW.

For consumers who install rooftop solar systems of 3 kW to 10 kW, a subsidy of ₹14,588 (~$185)/kW is applicable for the first 3 kW capacity and ₹7,294 (~$92)/kW for the rest of the capacity.

For systems of 10 kW and above, a fixed subsidy of ₹94,822 (~$1,198) will be provided. Earlier, there was no subsidy for systems above 10 kW.

The applicable subsidies will be notified each calendar year under the simplified procedure. They will be made available to the beneficiaries who have registered their applications on the portal during the year.

Early this year, MNRE issued a simplified procedure for residential consumers to install the rooftop solar system through any vendor of their choice under the Rooftop Solar Program. The ministry had said that it would launch a national portal wherein homeowners can apply for rooftop systems, get approvals, and track their progress.

The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance recently issued a new procedure for fund flow under Central Sector programs, including grid-connected rooftop solar program (GCRTS) Phase I and II. Under the new procedure, entities must open a zero-balance savings account in the Bank of Maharashtra for the subsidies to be credited.

According to the Mercom India Rooftop Solar Market Report Q1 2022, India added 456 MW of rooftop solar capacity in the first quarter of 2022, recording a 34% year-over-year growth. The installation numbers were the second highest in any quarter after Q2 2021.