India most cost-effective in rooftop solar power: Report

Mumbai, October 15

A global study has found that India is the most cost-effective country for generating rooftop solar energy at USD 66 per megawatt-hour, while the cost in China is marginally higher at USD 68 per megawatt-hour.

Due to the lower cost, rooftop solar photovoltaics (RTSPV) technology, such as roof-mounted solar panels used in homes, and commercial and industrial buildings, is currently the fastest deployable energy generation technology. This, according to this global study, is projected to fulfil up to 49% of the global electricity demand by 2050.

Over the past decade, the massive drop in deployment cost coupled with policy-driven initiatives has led to a rapid uptake of RTSPV globally. At the same time, RTSPV technology has shown a steep decline in deployment cost

Between 2006 and 2018, the installed capacity of the RTSPV has grown from 2.5 gigawatts (GW) to 213 GW.

The study has been co-authored by Priyadarshi Shukla, a professor at Ahmedabad University and director of its global centre for environment and energy; Shivika Mittal from the Imperial College, London; and James Glynn from Columbia University. The team was led by Siddharth Joshi, researcher at MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine in University College Cork. — PTI