Gujarat's government has been considering a rooftop subsidy for some time. Flickr: Ajay Tallam

The Indian state of Gujarat has introduced a subsidy for residential grid-connected rooftop solar systems on top of any benefits provided by India’s Central government.

The subsidy amounts to INR10,000 per kW of installed PV (US$151) with a maximum of INR20,000 per consumer. This financial support will be dispersed by the Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) after installation and commissioning of each rooftop system.

Gujarat’s government plans an initial target of 100,000 consumers, after which, based on a review, the scheme will be continued, modified or discontinued. The scheme is planned to encourage and promote setting up rooftop solar across the state.

This subsidy will be in addition to any benefit received from the Central government, which announced a return to 30% subsidy for residential rooftop systems last November

As part of India’s overall 100GW target by 2022, Gujarat was given a goal of 8,024MW solar by 2021/22, of which 3,200MW is to come from rooftop solar.

In March, a major report from the Solar Rooftop Policy Coalition, launched formally by energy minister Piyush Goyal, claimed that with a business as usual approach, India is set to reach just one third of its 40GW by 2022 rooftop solar target.

Last February, PV Tech revealed that the Indian city of Chandigarh is planning on becoming the second municipality in India to make rooftop solar mandatory on all buildings.

PV Tech also caught up with Anand Nagarajan, founder of distributed independent power producer for solar rooftops Dexler Energy, recently to discuss the steady emergence of India's rooftop potential.

If you are looking to invest in or develop solar projects in India, join us on the 7th of June in London at Solar Finance & Investment: India, a conference designed to bring together European and North American investors and developers looking into the Indian market, as well companies with consolidated presence that are exploring new partnerships.