PANAJI
Goa’s ambitious ‘Goem Vinamulya Vij Yevjan’ scheme -- an initiative aligned with the Prime Minister’s Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana -- has got huge response, with the government receiving over 3000 applications for rooftop solar installations, within just three months since its launch.
The scheme encourages free rooftop solar installation upto 5kW for household users who consume 400 units or less per year. Apart from the Centre’s total outlay of Rs 75,000 crore, Goa government, with an initial investment of Rs 35 crore, will bear the entire cost of installation till 2026-27.
Also, under the scheme, the beneficiaries will get 300 units of free electricity and would be charged thereafter.
A senior official said that since August till date, a total 3095 applications have been received under the scheme, which was launched on July 27.
“We have already empaneled agencies for rooftop installation. They will now verify the feasibility of each consumer, who has applied under the scheme, to install solar. Under the central scheme, the installation is partially free but under Goa government’s scheme, the entire installation is free,” a senior official said.
The additional installation burden is taken care of by the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA).
The official explained that to get the benefit under the scheme, the consumer should have consumed 400 units or less for every month in the last calendar year.
Meanwhile, the overall data shows that as on date, total 1,291 solar rooftops have been installed in the State with a total power generation capacity of 60.12 MWp.
This includes 998 residential solar rooftops, 193 commercial and 84 industrial installations while there are 16 in other categories. The total power generation capacity of the industrial rooftops is highest- 33.95MWp, followed by commercial -13.84 MWp and 10.91MWp by residential.
