Tamil Nadu’s vision of achieving 20 GW of solar energy capacity by 2030 is driving a transition to renewable energy. In line with this, we did a detailed analysis of the financial attractiveness of rooftop PV solar systems for domestic consumers in Tamil nadu.

We found that both net feed-in and net metering mechanisms offer financially attractive payback periods for various combinations of monthly consumption and solar PV capacities. Net metering, in most financial attractive cases, gives a faster payback. However the net feed-in mechanism offers better payback with removal of network charges.

We define a ‘financially attractive’ system as one with a simple payback period of less than or equal to 5 years. In our analysis, we’ve identified nine combinations that meet this criteria under both net feed-in and net metering mechanism.

Network charges affect significantly in payback period. Removing these charges improves payback periods, especially under the net feed-in mechanism. We recommend a review of the network charges to increase the adoption of rooftop solar in Tamil Nadu.

To optimize the solar system size, consumers are advised to maximizes self-consumption and minimizes surplus energy export, resulting in shorter payback.
In conclusion, higher adoption of rooftop solar can play a pivotal role in Tamil Nadu’s journey towards achieving its 20 GW of solar energy goal and tools like ‘Solsavi’ help prosumers to make informed decisions in their journey of adopting rooftop solar PV systems.