The State Government of Delhi, the capital of India, is planned to become a ‘model’ for states and cities globally for sustainable clean energy transition with its 6 GW installed solar capacity target for 2025 which will increase its share in the city’s annual electricity demand from 9% to 25%—the ‘highest’ in the country.

To achieve the target of 6 GW PV by 2025 under the draft Delhi Solar Policy 2022, the administration will provide generation-based incentives (GBI) and capital subsidies for residential and commercial consumers, for 5 years from the date of commissioning in the following manner:

• Residential solar systems of up to 3 kW capacity can claim a monthly GBI of INR 3.00 per kWh
• For residential systems of above 3 kW and up to 10 kW, the monthly GBI will be of INR 2.00 per kWh
• Group housing societies (CGHS), and resident welfare associations (RWA) for up to 500 kW systems (at 10 kW per house), GBI amount will be calculated as INR 2.00 per kWh
• There will also be an early-bird GBI of INR 1.00 per kWh for 1^st time commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers for the initial 200 MW solar deployed.

Residential consumers will also be offered a capital subsidy for mounting structures of INR 2,000 per kW up to a maximum of INR 10,000 per consumers and adjusted against electricity bills.

The policy also proposes to introduce a hybrid RESCO model for all consumers to access net metering benefits without any capital investment, under an agreement with the discom.

“For the first time in the country, consumers will have an opportunity for community solar and peer-to-peer trading,” stated Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister and Power Minister Manish Sisodia.

Under the policy, the government will make deployment of rooftop solar plants on all government buildings with a rooftop area of 500 sq. mtr. and above mandatory.

Delhi Solar Cell will manage a unified single-window state portal that will provide information on the benefits of solar PV systems, process related guidelines and timeline.

Additionally, discoms will be encouraged to increase the share of solar energy procured from outside the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi through Renewable Energy-Round-the-Clock (RE-RTC).

The efforts made under the policy are expected to generate 12,000 new jobs and help the city fight pollution.

Prepared by the Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) of Delhi, the draft policy will be available for public comments for 30 days, post which it will be sent for cabinet approval.

Under Delhi Solar Policy 2016 the government had been targeting to achieve 1.995 GW rooftop solar by 2025. The policy expired in 2021.