Will rooftop solar energy systems built using solar PV modules and associated equipment soon come with net metering facilities as well? Dr Farooq Abdullah, Honorable Minister of New and Renewable Energy did give such a hint in his inaugural speech at a national consultation in New Delhi recently. The consultation, organized jointly by Ministry of New and renewable Energy with GIZ from Germany, focused on the future of rooftop solar energy systems set up using solar modules.

During his speech, Dr Abdullah tasked the officials of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with the responsibility of preparing an action plan for the introduction of net metering facility for rooftop solar energy systems (of both residential and commercial nature), as soon as possible. The objective of this is the rapid expansion of solar energy systems across the nation, which the consumers would be able to use profitably.

Dr Abdullah explained that the cost of solar power has been around INR 18 per unit in 2010, and this is likely to go down as far as INR 8 per unit in 2012. He expressed hope that with such drastic reduction in prices, solar module manufacturers and other companies related to the industry of solar energy equipment manufacturing should be able to devise affordable solutions for consumers.

Once a net metering system is introduced, the meter will keep track of how much electricity is being consumed by the user from the solar modules, on a regular basis. The surplus energy will then be automatically channeled to the National Electricity Grid. This will allow the consumer to gain rebates on electricity bills, depending on the quantity of electricity supplied to the Grid. In the long run, this can indeed lead to major savings for the consumer, allowing him to recover a significant portion of money invested in the solar energy system pretty quickly.

How quickly can such a system be established in India? Well, discussion and planning phases are certainly in progress, but one thing is for sure. The sooner such a system is in place, the sooner India will be able to take a giant leap forward in making solar energy and solar power modules into household names across the nation.