Solar insights
What we have learned about choosing, sizing, buying and maintaining solar in India.
Regulations
ALMM List-II is now in force — and MNRE revised it three times in August alone
Since 1 June 2026, modules used in government-supported solar projects must be built from cells made by manufacturers on ALMM List-II. MNRE issued a clarification, a List-I update and a ninth List-II revision within three weeks of August 2026.
23 August 2026
Regulations
MNRE gives inverter makers until 16 September to confirm rooftop data stays in India
A ministry notice dated 17 August 2026 requires inverter manufacturers supplying PM Surya Ghar to confirm in writing that all inverter-level data from Indian rooftops is held on servers inside India. The deadline is 30 days.
23 August 2026
Projects
75 lakh rooftops by December: what the target actually requires
The government expects PM Surya Ghar to pass 75 lakh beneficiary households by December 2026. With 50.06 lakh reached in early August, the remaining gap is large but the recent run rate is larger than most coverage suggests.
23 August 2026
Technology / Updates
Your rooftop inverter is now a monitored device. Here is what that means
Inverters supplied under PM Surya Ghar must carry a remote monitoring system, report generation daily through a standard API, and identify themselves by IMEI over an encrypted link. Monitoring has stopped being an optional extra.
23 August 2026
Projects
Five states hold most of India's rooftop solar. The rest are not far behind by accident
Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Kerala account for the large majority of installed rooftop capacity under PM Surya Ghar. The concentration is not about sunshine — it is about process, awareness and finance.
23 August 2026
Projects
PM Surya Ghar crosses 50 lakh households — and July was its biggest month yet
The rooftop scheme passed 50.06 lakh beneficiary households in early August 2026, with 14.8 GW commissioned under it. July alone added 5.06 lakh households, the strongest month since the scheme began in February 2024.
23 August 2026
Projects
7.77 million, 4.19 million, 5.04 million: three rooftop numbers that are not the same number
PM Surya Ghar reports applications, installations and beneficiary households separately, and they are not interchangeable. Telling them apart explains most of the apparent contradictions in rooftop solar coverage.
23 August 2026
Technology / Updates
17,094 households were asked about rooftop solar. Awareness is no longer the problem
CEEW's June 2026 survey across 22 states found general solar awareness had reached 90 per cent, and households that installed reported an average 71 per cent cut in electricity bills. The barriers that remain are not about knowing solar exists.
23 August 2026
Technology / Updates
The maintenance nobody quoted for: what neglect does to a rooftop system
CEEW research published in June 2026 models what happens when residential rooftop systems are not maintained: payback periods stretching past 25 years, lifetime savings falling to zero, and as much as 80 per cent of capital subsidy wasted.
23 August 2026