PM Surya Ghar: Free Electricity Scheme, Aiming for 1 Crore Solar Installations by 2027

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15, 2024, the PM Surya Ghar: Free Electricity Scheme is the world’s largest domestic rooftop solar program. The scheme aims to provide solar energy to one crore homes by March 2027. By March 2025, the initiative expects 10 lakh installations, doubling to 20 lakh by October 2025. This number is targeted to reach 40 lakh by March 2026, thereby achieving the target of 10 million installations by the end of March 2027. This initiative facilitates rooftop solar panel installations to provide free electricity to households.

Key Benefits of the Scheme:

1. The scheme provides households with a subsidy of up to 40%, making renewable energy affordable and accessible.
2. 6.3 lakh installations have been completed in just nine months, with an average monthly installation rate of 70,000, which is ten times higher than the pre-plan average.
3. The scheme is projected to save the government ₹75,000 crores annually on electricity costs.
4. This transformative initiative underscores India’s dedication to sustainable development and renewable energy adoption.

Subsidy Details: Subsidies are determined based on a household's average monthly electricity consumption and the suitable rooftop solar plant capacity:

Subsidy Application and Vendor Selection: Families can apply for PM Surya Ghar Yojana subsidy through the national portal, which also helps in selecting suitable vendors for rooftop solar installation. The portal provides information on system size recommendations, a benefits calculator, vendor ratings, and other details. Additionally, households can avail free loans with 7% interest rate to install systems up to 3 kW.

Energy Savings for Every Household:

1. As of December 3, 2024, 1.45 crore registrations and 26.38 lakh applications have been recorded on the National Portal under the PM Surya Ghar scheme.
2. Households can save significantly on electricity bills and generate income by selling surplus power to DISCOMs. This 3 kW system can produce an average of 300 units of electricity per month.
3. The scheme targets adding 30 GW of solar capacity, contributing substantially to India's renewable energy goals.
4. Over the 25-year lifespan of these rooftop solar systems, it is estimated that 720 million tonnes of CO2 emissions will be avoided.
5. The program is expected to create approximately 17 lakh direct jobs in sectors such as manufacturing, supply chain, sales, installation, and maintenance.

Model Solar Village Initiative: the "Model Solar Village" component of the scheme, one model solar village will be established in each district. This initiative aims to promote solar energy adoption and empower rural communities to achieve energy self-reliance.

1. A budget of ₹800 crore has been earmarked for this, in which ₹1 crore has been allocated to each selected model solar village.
2. Villages must be revenue villages with a population of over 5,000 (or 2,000 in special category states).
3. Villages will be selected based on their renewable energy capacity six months after being identified by the District Level Committee (DLC).
4. The village with the highest renewable energy capacity in each district will receive a Central Financial Assistance (CFA) grant of ₹1 crore.