Delhi to install 1000 MW of Solar

India’s capital Delhi has released a draft solar policy in which the city will install 1000 megawatts of solar energy. Given that the capital’s users pay one of the highest industrial and commercial tariffs, this may not be an unfeasible target. For a large section of the users, solar energy will be cheaper than paying for power sourced from the grid. The major hurdles are regulations and policies which make it difficult for roof owners to put solar panels. Rules regarding net metering, inspection and tariffs need to be sorted out before solar energy can grow rapidly.

However, the leaders are making the same mistakes that other states in India make. They want to take the easy way out by promoting solar panels on government owned buildings. This is a good measure for immature technologies, but solar is already quite well established. The growth is being hindered by India’s bureaucracy which is rated as one of the worst in the world. A plethora of rules and regulations regarding consumption and transmission of power make it very difficult for ordinary users to put up solar systems. The problem will be compounded as solar systems will need inspection regarding quality, metering etc. Corrupt officials will make this a nightmare for normal users, while connected users will make hay by tampering meters. In a country where almost 20% of the electricity is stolen, having a net metering policy implemented will not be easy.

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Policy makers are also not doing their piece by making it easy for people to install solar systems. Delhi has made the right noises by saying it will install 1000 MW. But execution is the key and that will take a lot of hard work. The capital’s electricity policy is already a mess, with the government accusing the private distribution utilities of artificially inflating costs and wasting millions of dollars. In this climate of mistrust, running a solar policy seems extremely hard to me.