Govt mulls PM Surya Ghar 2.0 with battery storage, shared rooftop solar
The government is considering a second phase of the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, referred to as PM Surya Ghar 2.0
The proposed expansion would extend central financial assistance to battery storage systems and hybrid inverters alongside conventional rooftop solar panels
A shared or community rooftop solar model is under consideration to extend benefits to households without access to a suitable rooftop, such as tenants and residents of multi-storey buildings
The move follows steady progress under the original scheme, which has crossed several lakh household installations since its 2024 launch
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana — Original Scheme Framework
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is the Union government's flagship rooftop solar subsidy scheme, launched to make residential solar installation affordable and to reduce households' dependence on grid electricity. It is administered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and is described as the world's largest domestic rooftop solar programme by target scale.
Key Details
- Launched on 13 February 2024 with a central outlay of approximately ₹75,021 crore
- Target: 1 crore (10 million) residential rooftop solar installations, with a stated milestone of 75 lakh households by December 2026
- Subsidy structure: ₹30,000 per kW for the first 1 kW, up to ₹60,000 for 2 kW, and capped at ₹78,000 for systems of 3 kW or above, disbursed via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) after DISCOM commissioning
- Eligible households are entitled to up to 300 units of free electricity per month, funded through net metering and the subsidy-supported capital cost reduction
- Eligibility requires a sanctioned residential electricity load of 10 kW or below and no prior solar subsidy availed by the household
- Builds on the earlier Rooftop Solar Programme Phase-II (2019), extending and simplifying the subsidy and application process through a national online portal
PM Surya Ghar 2.0 is positioned as the next phase of this existing scheme, expanding its scope from standalone rooftop panels to storage-enabled and shared-access solar systems.
Battery Storage Integration in Rooftop Solar Policy
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) paired with rooftop solar allow households to store surplus daytime generation for use during non-sunlight hours or grid outages, addressing the intermittency limitation of solar power and reducing dependence on net-metering arrangements with DISCOMs.
Key Details
- Under the proposed Phase 2 expansion, hybrid inverters and battery storage systems would become eligible for Central Financial Assistance (CFA) in addition to standard solar PV systems
- Battery storage support is intended to help manage grid variability and evolving household consumption patterns, and to reduce curtailment losses from excess daytime generation
- This mirrors global rooftop solar-plus-storage policy trends aimed at improving self-consumption ratios and reducing the strain that high solar penetration places on distribution grids at peak generation hours
By extending subsidy coverage to storage components, PM Surya Ghar 2.0 seeks to make rooftop solar installations more self-reliant and less dependent on real-time grid interaction, addressing a key technical limitation flagged in the scheme's first phase.
Shared/Community Rooftop Solar and the Utility-Linked Aggregation Model
A significant constraint on rooftop solar uptake is that many urban residents, particularly tenants and residents of high-rise apartments, do not have direct access to a rooftop suitable for individual installation. Community or shared solar models allow multiple consumers to draw benefits from a single larger installation, typically through virtual net metering or utility-mediated allocation.
Key Details
- A proposed Utility-Linked Aggregation (ULA) model would allow DISCOMs/utilities to facilitate shared rooftop solar deployment for households lacking individual roof access, particularly benefiting underserved and urban rental populations
- This differs from the RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) model, where a third party owns and operates the installation and sells power to the consumer, and from the CAPEX model, where the consumer owns the system outright
- Community solar approaches are already used internationally (e.g., US community solar programmes) to extend rooftop solar-equivalent benefits to non-roof-owning consumers
The shared rooftop solar component of PM Surya Ghar 2.0 addresses one of the most cited structural gaps in India's rooftop solar penetration — the inability of renters and multi-dwelling-unit residents to access individual subsidies.
- Original PM Surya Ghar scheme launched: 13 February 2024; central outlay: approximately ₹75,021 crore
- Target: 1 crore households; interim milestone: 75 lakh households by December 2026
- Current subsidy cap: ₹78,000 for systems of 3 kW and above (₹30,000/kW for the first kW, up to ₹60,000 for 2 kW)
- Free electricity entitlement under the scheme: up to 300 units per month per eligible household
- Progress reported: approximately 40 lakh households solarised as of mid-2026
- Nodal ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
- Eligibility ceiling: sanctioned residential load of 10 kW or below