Luminous Highlights Challenges in Solar Energy Adoption

Awareness of alternatives to traditional energy sources is on the rise among Indians. However, despite growing energy consciousness, several initiatives launched by the government, and the urgent and critical need for accessible clean energy, an analysis of the ‘Solar Spectrum of New India’ reveals that as much as 97% respondents in India do not have solar rooftop system installed in their homes.

The ‘Solar Spectrum of New India’ study, conducted by Luminous Power Technologies reflects the dichotomy wherein individuals exhibit awareness of the advantages of solar energy solutions, yet fail to embrace them.

According to the study, the top barriers to the adoption of solar power in India are: Accessibility, Shortage of Specialized skills, and Perceived Cost Implications. 

While 85% believe their city has ideal weather conditions for installing solar-powered rooftop systems, underscoring a widespread recognition of its sustainability advantages, however, nearly a quarter of the respondents (24%) say solar energy solutions are inaccessible to them.

On the front of specialized skills, 90% of respondents agree that specialized skills are necessary for the installation of solar solutions such as rooftop panels, indicating the perceived importance of technical expertise in the field. Nearly half of the respondents (45%) believe that skilled labour for implementing solar energy solutions is unavailable in their vicinity. The results indicate the gap between demand and supply of skilled personnel.

The survey further reveals that more than half the respondents perceive the top challenge to be a lack of awareness about career opportunities (52%). Furthermore, nearly one in every five respondents (19%) believe lack of company-driven initiatives to drive training. This indicates a need for industry stakeholders to take the lead in driving awareness for career-building opportunities in the solar power sector. 

Cost implication

Finally, the research had some interesting findings about the perceived cost implications of solar energy adoption. This barrier is preventing consumers from awareness of the adoption phase. As the majority of respondents (58%) view solar energy as cost-effective in the long term, concerns about high initial installation costs are still prevalent among 59% of respondents. 

In fact, amongst people who have not currently installed solar rooftops, a noteworthy proportion (55%) believe that the cost of implementing solar power solutions is slightly more expensive compared to traditional energy sources, and another 37% claim it is considerably more expensive. This suggests the need to build awareness of financial schemes and avenues available for consumers who are prepared to adopt such solutions but refrain due to reservations about the cost. 

Elaborating on the research, Preeti Bajaj, MD & CEO, Luminous Power Technologies said, “At Luminous, we envision a future where communities across the nation come together to harness the immense potential of solar power, paving the way for a sustainable and energy-efficient tomorrow. This research aids us in understanding the changing consumer perceptions, their limitations as well as openness towards the adoption of new energy sources. The efforts must be directed towards bridging the skills gap and fostering a skilled workforce for India to unlock the full potential of solar energy and drive sustainable development across the country.”

Additionally, Luminous has partnered with NBFCs like Ecofy and a leading fintech lender Credit Fair to offer affordable solar financing options to individuals, trust-run institutions, housing societies, and small and medium industries for installing clean energy systems. Luminous as part of their CSR project “Solar PV Installation Training” is also upskilling men & women across India to become solar technicians. The 400-hour course is being initiated to provide a lucrative job avenue to the unemployed youth. It has been active in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka (Bengaluru), Jammu, Haryana (Kaithal), Maharashtra (Nagpur) and Sikkim (Rangpo). The trainees upon completion are being provided a Skill Certificate from NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation). Under this training course, the focus lies on the development of industry-competent skills

Methodology

The report is based on interviews with 4,318 respondents amongst four age cohorts as mentioned below across 5 metros: Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and 8 non-metros: Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Gurugram, Guwahati, Jaipur, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna conducted between February 2024 to March 2024. 

A random sample of 4258 respondents in the four age cohorts were interviewed, out of which 91 respondents were found to have solar rooftop systems. In addition to this 60 qualified respondents of solar rooftop owners were surveyed from 3 cities of high user ship.  All the findings from our survey are supported by extensive secondary research across the country.