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Growth of rooftop solar installations in 2018 is likely to witness a decline on the back of regulatory complexity and policy uncertainty. POWER TODAY spoke to a cross-section of experts to understand what it would take to return traction to the segment.

It is a tough question to answer. At present we, from the hydropower fraternity, have requested the Government of India to come up with a new hydropower policy.

There are many factors for the truncation of targets and also for slowdown in the segment. Firstly, the previous targets were somewhat over ambitious and the government has lately recognised this.

The growth of DG sets would be driven by higher volumes in the mid- or high-horse power (HP) segment with the revival of key markets such as infrastructure, commercial and manufacturing.

India is steadily moving to the ambitious target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022 or even earlier. Total contribution from solar is tasked at 100 GW, out of which 40 GW is expected to be roof top solar, rest being grid connected.

The government's thrust in the last couple of years has been on renewables, and India has done quite well in strengthening this portfolio, especially in solar power.

Last year was challenging as the wind industry witnessed slowdown due to the transition from feed-in tariff (FiT) to competitive bidding. This impacted margins and created temporary uncertainty in terms of volumes.

While the central and state governments have done a (good÷ job with regard to rooftop solar policies, there are some specific changes to the net metering rules and plant size specifications that can accelerate adoption.