Indian holy city Varanasi has potential for 676MW rooftop solar – CEED

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The report calls for implementation of rooftop PV in a phased manner starting with 300MW by 2025. Flickr: Lyle Vincent

The Indian city of Varanasi, famed for its burning ghats along the banks of the River Ganges, has the potential for 676MW of rooftop solar installations by using just 8.3% of available roof space, according to a report from the Centre for Environment and Energy Development (CEED).

The new study ‘Vibrant Varanasi: Transformation through Solar Rooftop’ found that the suitable solar rooftop space in the city is around 8.01 sq kilometres, with two thirds of this offered by residential buildings. Commercial and Industrial consumers will also be able to save between INR80-1.45/kWh (US$0.012-0.022). The C&I segment has dominated the rooftop market across India because grid parity has been reached in many locations, but the residential segment has progressed at a much slower pace.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The report calls for implementation of rooftop PV in a phased manner starting with 300MW by 2025. CEED noted that air quality of the holy city in the state of Uttar Pradesh has been deteriorating in recent years.

It was noted that fiscal support is likely to be needed for residential customers until grid parity is reached around 2020.

CEED chief executive Ramapati Kumar added: “This report comes at a time when the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government has signed the ‘Power for All’ scheme with the Government of India. The solar rooftop programme in Varanasi shall bridge the gap between the ever-increasing electricity crisis and the rising tariffs. The fact that solar energy prices are lower than the conventional sources of energy, is the perfect solution to bring about an energy transformation in the entire Indo-Gangetic region, starting with Varanasi.”

Varanasi and other cities in Uttar Pradesh face acute power shortages, but to adopt solar energy it also needs to improve on its metering and grid-connectivity guidelines to help integration from distributed resources. The government should also support relatively new ideas such as solar aggregators and roof banks, according to CEED.

India is expected to reach just 12-13GW of rooftop solar by 2022, well short of its 40GW target, despite a huge leap in the next five years, according to a new report by global analysis firm Crisil Research.

Read Next

June 27, 2025
Indian solar manufacturer Premier Energies has commissioned its 1.2GW TOPCon solar cell manufacturing line at Fab City, Hyderabad, Telangana.
June 26, 2025
ACEN has partnered with UPC Renewables to build two renewable projects in Rajasthan and Karnataka, India. 
June 25, 2025
Emmvee has secured INR15 billion (US$174 million) order for TOPCon bifacial solar modules from KPI Green Energy. 
June 25, 2025
State-owned firm Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has launched a solar-plus-storage tender seeking 1.2GW of solar PV.
June 24, 2025
Waaree Renewable Technologies has signed an MoU with Viet Khanh to establish a 100MWp solar project in the region. 
June 24, 2025
BluPine Energy has raised INR2,416 million (US$290 million) debt sanctions for its 150MW power project in Aland, Karnataka.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico