00:00In Uttar Pradesh, this is what an average electricity bill looks like.
00:05But in the district of Lucknow, a zero electricity bill is the reality of thousands of homes
00:11because they are making their own electricity.
00:15How?
00:17Rooftop solar panels.
00:18Lucknow is India's top solar rooftop city
00:22and more than 100,000 rooftops here look like this.
00:27Nowhere else across the country have more rooftop solar panels been installed than in Uttar Pradesh.
00:33But what's the secret to this popularity?
00:35We're in Lucknow, 500 kilometers from Delhi to find some answers.
00:39We started by visiting a few households which had already installed rooftop solar.
00:44Most of these houses had solar setups between 3 to 10 kilowatts,
00:48enough to run air conditioners, washing machines, microwave ovens,
00:52the usual appliances that can be found in an average, middle-income Indian household.
00:57Some even had charging stations for their electric cars.
01:00And all had different reasons for opting for rooftop solar.
01:04The government was promoting it.
01:06It seems to be a good idea.
01:07And the carbon emission was also less.
01:09Bhatiji has put 10 kilowatts in my local house in my local house.
01:12And the bill was around 17,000 to 18,000 a month.
01:16It was reduced from 17,000 to 18,000, and it was 6,000 to 7,000.
01:20So that motivated me.
01:21This is very popular.
01:23I can tell you that people are putting solar in Lucknow.
01:27This rise in the popularity of solar rooftop can be seen in the number of installations happening every day.
01:34And at this speed, we're talking 2,000 installations each day, if not more.
01:48This is Satyam.
01:50He's the head of this team that we have decided to follow as they install rooftop solar at this young
01:56couple's home.
02:04And while the rising frequency of heat waves and cold waves has made their need for more electrical appliances increasingly
02:12undeniable,
02:13resulting in higher electricity bills, cost doesn't seem to be their only consideration.
02:45But the biggest incentive?
02:52Well, Mamta is not alone.
02:5481% of users who opt for rooftop solar do it to cut electricity bills.
03:00But what makes this zero electricity bill possible?
03:20In most localities, one finds these dark blue panels on every other roof.
03:25Historically, the rooftops of the Kingdom of Awadh were engineered for warfare, elite leisure, kite flying and even climate control,
03:33rather than just structural coverings.
03:35The iconic rooftops in this historical city were a blend of Mughal, Persian and eventually European influences
03:43and always held a distinct position in Indian architectural history.
03:48Clearly, nobody had solar panels in mind back then.
03:52We were able to get behind-the-scenes access to the State Department that spearheads this rooftop solar program,
03:59getting a peek into their workings and meetings.
04:02This team closely tracks daily data from across all districts in Uttar Pradesh and even all states in India.
04:08We have 60,000 installations in Uttar Pradesh, which are the highest.
04:13On the second, Andhra is 55,000.
04:16On the third, Maharashtra is 50,000.
04:18On the fourth, Gujarat is 35,000.
04:19The year started on February 13, 2024.
04:22The installation of installations were 2, 4, 6 figures.
04:27Today, we have more installations in the entire country.
04:32Financial incentives have driven this adoption.
04:35The central government offers subsidies for installing rooftop solar with additional support from the state government.
04:42Low-interest loans and property tax rebates in some municipalities.
04:47The next big factor has been marketing.
04:49Ad campaigns promoting rooftop solar are hard to miss in Lucknow.
04:53They are everywhere.
05:17School kids were robed in too.
05:19They have become a part of the awareness campaign.
05:22Clean energy, green energy, green energy, green energy, green energy, green energy.
05:29If you want to install solar panels, finding a vendor in Lucknow is just as easy as finding a delicious
05:36plate of biryani.
05:38In Lucknow, naturally, there are more than 300 plus vendors.
05:41And you'll be surprised that when initially this program started, it was 72 vendors.
05:47Most of these vendors are investing heavily in advertising, particularly on social media.
05:53Many hire agencies, while some of them even run their own social media and video production setups.
06:00It was a door-to-door campaign.
06:02So now it is like phone-to-phone.
06:03Phone is everything.
06:05So the phone has the power to influence people, to influence their mind and to get business.
06:09For a customer, there are many vendors, many options, but also several risks.
06:15This investment, which is meant to last for more than 25, almost 30 years, can really fail much earlier if
06:22they don't choose wisely.
06:45And the expense of maintaining these panels takes many consumers by surprise.
06:51It was a one-time investment, but after we realized that once our inverter also failed, the maintenance cost is
07:00coming.
07:01At the time of solar, people invest in 2-3 lakhs.
07:04They invest in 20-30 years.
07:06But the problem is that if the solar is falling down, we didn't think that this cost will come.
07:13So the maintenance cost, the maintenance cost, the maintenance cost, there are many different things.
07:17We met an expert who grew up with power cuts and kerosene lamps and has spent decades pursuing clean energy.
07:24And he believes that to make the most of a solar setup in the long run, three things are key.
07:30One is the ensuring that the quality of installations happen.
07:35Secondly, sustaining this by using the right kind of cloth, right process, water quality, etc.
07:42And do a scheduled checkup.
07:45Third, I would also say, can we move our consumption?
07:49Can you run your washing machine in the hours in which solar rooftop is producing?
07:54Can you do your electric cooking in those times?
07:56Sales are up. Adoption is high. Everyone seems to be wanting a solar panel in this city.
08:02But the supply of domestically produced solar panels became a huge bottleneck for the government.
08:08There was so much awareness, demand, people gave their applications.
08:12I didn't get the material.
08:14There was a shortage of solar panels.
08:18There wasn't enough manufacturing.
08:19It was a year before.
08:21And while the government says the domestic supply bottleneck has now been resolved,
08:26many raw materials and key components are still imported from China.
08:30Chinese manufacturers are pushing into the Indian market with often cheaper panels
08:35and even when panels are assembled locally, many key components are still not produced in India.
08:55Now as this boom in popularity rests largely on financial incentives alongside an ecosystem of easy access and information,
09:04what happens once this government subsidy is removed?
09:09So India has a target of solarizing 10 million households by March 2027.
09:15This has also been for a very specific period because of the PM Suryaghar Yojana.
09:20This program is supposed to end in March next year.
09:23However, I think the awareness about the benefits of solar rooftop, the cost reduction that has happened,
09:29will ensure that the sustenance continues.
09:32At the peak of this solar boom, some big questions still remain.
09:36Once targeted incentives such as those in Uttar Pradesh are phased out,
09:40how can solar power remain affordable, not only for India's urban middle class,
09:45but also for low-income households?
09:47And as millions of panels eventually reach the end of their lifespan,
09:52what will happen to the vast amount of e-waste they create?
09:56For now though, solar is undeniably the talk of the town
09:59and a rapidly growing part of India's clean energy story.
10:17Solar may be the talk of the town today,
10:19but India's clean energy ambitions will depend on making this boom sustainable,
10:24not just spectacular.
10:26Thank you, Laura.
