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REconnect Lucknow: Bridging Policy, Finance and Quality Gaps Critical for Boosting Solar Adoption

At the REconnect Summit 2025 in Lucknow, panellists discussed boosting the adoption of solar power in the residential, and commercial and industrial (C&I) segments, policy gaps, financing mechanisms, service quality, and the role of technology and AI.

March 24, 2025. By Mrinmoy Dey

Solar energy plays a crucial role in India's renewable transition and is key to achieving the 500 GW target by 2030. The residential, and commercial and industrial (C&I) segments must drive this growth.

At the second panel discussion at REconnect 2025 in Lucknow on 'Upscaling C&l and Residential Solar', the panellists shared insights on grid connectivity, policy gaps, financing mechanisms, service quality, and the role of technology and AI in the solar industry.

“There is an 8 GW capacity gap in the consumer and industry (C&I) segment, meaning developers have surplus power, but industries are unable to access it,” noted Dr. Sathish Suri, Managing Director, GreenPath Energy and Sustainability Services. He attributed this issue to grid connectivity, stability concerns, and restrictive state policies. “For example, Telangana has not had an open-access provision from 2014 to 2025, which impacts industries like Google and Microsoft that have RE100 strategies but cannot adopt renewable power.”

He further highlighted the need for a rational and standardized pricing mechanism across states. “Developers are quoting INR 3.2–3.3 per kWh in some states, while in places like West Bengal, prices reach INR 3.8 due to power shortages. Streamlining these pricing structures is crucial for market stability,” said Suri.

To achieve India's net-zero goal by 2070, Suri outlined four key strategies, “Grid decarbonisation, industry decarbonisation, transportation decarbonisation, and building decarbonisation. Each state must customise its policies based on its unique energy landscape, rather than implementing a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Robin Gupta, Associate Vice President – Solar Finance, Capri Global Capital Ltd. added, “Certain states like Rajasthan and Gujarat provide a net metering report within 6 to 7 days. While UPNEDA is actively promoting faster net metering, adopting policies similar to these states would help streamline subsidies, incentives, and financing. This is something UP should consider implementing as well.”

Talking about improving service quality in solar installations, Girish Kumar Mourya, Project Head, Exolar Energy said, “Ensuring long-term service quality is critical for customer confidence in solar investments. Our goal is not just to install rooftop solar but to provide excellent service for the full project lifecycle. If we commit to five years of service, we must fulfil it, which is why we get most of our projects on a reference basis.”

Adding to this, Akshat Jain, CEO, KLK Ventures warned that many companies focus solely on sales and neglect service post-installation. “When you have only 20 customers, service is manageable. But when that scales to 2,000, it becomes a challenge. Companies must invest in dedicated service teams or third-party service providers from day one,” asserted Jain.

Pratibha Sharma, Head - Sales and Marketing (North India), Ningbo Deye Technology Group opined that the quality of service doesn’t necessarily depend on the size of the company, it depends rather on the service network.

She further pointed out, “80 percent of complaints can be resolved online through Wi-Fi monitoring, reducing the need for physical site visits. But having a well-structured service network is key to addressing issues effectively.”

Talking about innovation in solar monitoring, Radhika Choudary, Co-founder and Director, Freyr Energy Services stated, “The absence of pyranometers makes it challenging to assess real-time performance in residential solar projects. Currently, we can only monitor overall generation, but identifying drops due to cloud cover or other factors remains difficult. To address this, we have developed an advanced asset management platform that goes beyond inverter data. By analysing neighbouring systems within the same location, we can detect performance trends and historical losses more effectively.”

She further added, “Many of our customers now benefit from insights beyond standard inverter logins. Our platform provides real-time monitoring, proactive cleaning schedules, and recommendations to mitigate soiling losses—one of the biggest factors affecting generation. These innovations, led by Freyr and the team, are transforming how residential solar systems are managed and optimised.”

Talking about AI applications in the solar segment, Gupta added, “We are funding a start-up that uses AI to predict weather patterns and adjust solar panel operations accordingly. Another AI-driven initiative focuses on security—detecting unauthorised tampering with solar panels and alerting asset owners. This is very important from the point of asset securitisation since it’s an unsecured loan.”

Financing remains a significant challenge for rooftop solar adoption. “While government banks take 1-2 weeks to approve loans via Jan Samarth, NBFCs offer instant digital approvals. This accelerates rooftop solar adoption and provides a crucial alternative to traditional banks,” remarked Gupta.

Addressing concerns over loan defaults, he added, “So far, our Non-Performing Assets (NPA) rate is zero because customers see tangible savings on electricity bills, making repayments sustainable.”

Another challenge facing the segment is the lack of skilled manpower. Suri asserted that a 26 percent annual skill gap in the C&I segment poses a challenge. He emphasised the need for structured training, “The National Skill Development Corporation and Solar Energy Corporation of India are launching training programs, but we must also focus on operations and maintenance (O&M) training. Many installations face performance issues due to improper O&M practices.”

Echoing this, Jain shared a field experience, “We once inspected an installation in Jharkhand and found improper wiring practices that could have caused severe issues. We need grassroots-level training for installation teams to avoid such risks.”

As India rapidly scales its solar capacity, addressing grid bottlenecks, policy inconsistencies, service challenges, and skill gaps will be critical. Experts on the panel stressed the importance of government intervention, industry collaboration, and technology integration to bridge these gaps.