Tata Power has urged the West Bengal government to introduce an additional state subsidy for rooftop solar installations, while the company explores around ₹2,500 crore of solar investments across the state.
Kolkata, October 15 — Tata Power has called on the West Bengal government to provide an additional subsidy for rooftop solar systems to accelerate adoption under the Centre’s PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.
Sanjay Banga, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd, said West Bengal could consider incentives similar to those offered by states such as Odisha, Bihar and Assam.
He suggested a state subsidy in the range of ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per rooftop solar project, arguing that the additional support could make installations more affordable, especially for lower-income households.
Under the central scheme, households currently receive a subsidy of ₹30,000 for a 1-kW rooftop solar system, rising to as much as ₹78,000 for a 3-kW installation.
Tata Power has installed around 6,000 rooftop solar systems in West Bengal, out of nearly 22,000 households covered under the programme in the state so far. The company said rooftop solar adoption in West Bengal remains relatively low compared with several other states.
The company is also planning to aggressively promote a zero-down-payment financing model for residential solar installations in partnership with a panel of banks.
Tata Power CEO and Managing Director Praveer Sinha said the company aims to install rooftop solar systems in around 3 lakh homes in West Bengal over the next three years.
The company is also exploring multiple utility-scale solar power projects in the state with a combined capacity of around 500 MW, involving an estimated investment of ₹2,500 crore.
Land availability remains a key challenge. Tata Power has approached the state government for suitable land, and the company is evaluating three to four locations provided by the government.
Banga also suggested that the state develop solar parks on non-agricultural land, with private developers setting up generation facilities and supplying electricity to WBSEDCL under long-term power purchase agreements.
According to Tata Power, electricity from such projects could potentially be supplied at around ₹3 per unit, compared with WBSEDCL’s current average procurement cost of roughly ₹4–5 per unit.
