Velocity Report: Low Awareness and Lack of Motivation for Manufacturers Biggest Roadblocks for Solar Energy

Velocity MR, a leading market research and analysis company announced the results of their pan India study to gauge the awareness and penetration of household solar energy products in Urban India. The national study was conducted among a sample size of 2580 respondents and covered prominent Indian cities including Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai.

The Indian economy is growing at a rapid rate and energy shortage is bound to grow into a big hurdle in the upcoming years. In this research study, an attempt was made to identify and analyse the major triggers and barriers to the use of solar products in Indian households. Interestingly it is a promising outlook for Solar energy, as an overwhelming 95% of the respondents have expressed interest in buying Solar products for their daily use if available. This is further corroborated by the fact that more than half of the respondents that were surveyed, claimed to have used Solar energy in some form or the other.

In the study, TATA POWER SOLAR emerged as the most preferred brand amongst the top 10 solar panel manufactures in India followed by Adani Solar and Vikram Solar. Solar lamps and solar water heaters were voted as the most used solar products, with 1 in every two respondents claiming to use it. It was also observed that in Kolkata solar lamps are used on a large scale for household/domestic purpose, as compared to another tier 1 cities; while Bengaluru constitutes the highest number of solar water heater consumers amongst all the metros.

Adds Jasal Shah, Managing Director & CEO of Velocity MR, “For a manufacturing Economy like India, it is very challenging to supply electricity to the growing population without relying heavily on coal a natural resource, but one that is depleting rapidly. It is estimated that this valuable fuel source is not likely to last beyond 2040-50 in India due to its rampant consumption. However, the geographical location of India presents tremendous scope for generating other forms of energy including solar power. As the study suggests, it is time for India to wake up to this looming crisis and to promote other forms of alternative energy to avoid a catastrophe in the future.”

He further adds, “On a positive note, there is a growing awareness in the country towards conservation and sustainability. And solar power falls in the realm of sustainable and natural fuel energy sources. While the awareness is present, there must be a concerted push from the government and the industry to capitalize on this and to make the products and technology easily accessible to consumers for day to day use.”

Highlights of the Study

• Amongst the top 10 solar panel manufacturers in India, TATA POWER SOLAR holds the highest level of awareness which is followed by Adani Solar and Vikram Solar
• Solar lamps and solar water heaters are abundantly used in the Indian households
• ‘Environmental concerns’ and ‘Reduction in electricity costs’ are found to be the major triggers for using solar products whereas, ‘High maintenance costs’ and ‘Lack of space for installing solar panels’ are the key barriers to use solar products in Indian households
• Even though 71% of the respondents think that the Government is taking some initiative in making Solar energy available for general use, there is an issue with its awareness amongst the public (80%) and motivation for manufacturers (68%). Consumer awareness of solar technology and adequate government initiatives should be incorporated to promote the usage of solar products for household/domestic purpose