With a strong push for solar adoption by the Government and industry stakeholders, the assessment of consumer interest remains critical to ensuring solar success in the country. In its bid to understand the consumer landscape, Luminous Power Technologies conducted a nation-wide survey, the ‘Solar Spectrum of New India’, revealing interesting insights and spotlighting significant challenges regarding the adoptions of solar energy solutions.
As per the Luminous survey report, 52% Indians surveyed would be open to switching to solar power if incentivised with easy financing or loan solutions. The report indicates that majority of the people are aware of the benefits of solar solutions but find installation cost as a major barrier towards solar adoption. The report goes on to reveal that the availability of solar solutions and technologies is less of a challenge to customers, as over 76% Indians agreed that solar energy solutions are easily accessible. However, the price sensitive population finds cost as a major challenge in adopting rooftop solar with 92% finding installation costs a barrier.
With regards to tier 1 and 2 cities, the survey revealed Jaipur and Bengaluru are the most adaptive cities in installing solar rooftop systems. In fact, Jaipur takes the lead in terms of knowledge and awareness, with 79.71% affirmative respondents and Hyderabad being the lowest with 6.58% respondents. Respondents from cities like Ahmedabad, Kochi, and Bengaluru strongly believe that installation of solar solutions such as rooftop panels needs specialized skills. In Ahmedabad, 40% of respondents believe there is a limited availability of specialized training programs for solar energy, while 63.3% feel there is a lack of awareness about career opportunities in the sector. Meanwhile, 26.99% of respondents in Chandigarh highlighted the lack of company-driven initiatives to promote training in this domain as a significant issue.
Speaking about the granular findings from Solar Spectrum of New India survey, Preeti Bajaj, MD & CEO of Luminous Power Technologies, said, “The Solar Spectrum of New India survey has provided invaluable insights into the growing interest in solar energy across multiple cities in India. It helps us understand the barriers at the national level, but also identifies key trends in different regions, including tier 1 and 2 cities, beyond Metros. It is promising to see that key cities like Jaipur and Bengaluru are leading the way in terms of awareness and adoption. However, the study also highlights key challenges, particularly around the availability of skilled labour and the perception of high installation costs. At Luminous, we believe addressing these barriers is crucial to accelerating the transition to clean energy, and we are committed to developing innovative solutions that make solar power more accessible and affordable for all.”
“As we move forward, it’s clear that creating awareness about financial schemes and building specialized training programs will play a pivotal role in overcoming these hurdles. Our mission at Luminous Power Technologies is to ensure that every Indian household has the opportunity to benefit from solar energy, and we are working closely with industry partners to drive the development of skills and knowledge in this sector. The future of solar in India is bright, and we are excited to be at the forefront of this transformation”, Preeti Bajaj, MD & CEO of Luminous Power Technologies.
The high installation cost as a barrier triggers the need to build awareness of financial schemes and avenues available for consumers who are prepared to adopt such solutions but currently refrain due to reservations about the cost.
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 and women across India to become solar technicians. The 400-hour course aims to provide a lucrative job avenue to the unemployed youth through development of industry-competent skills. 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).
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;Gen Z (age 18-22) Millennials (age 23-38) Gen X (age 39-54) & baby boomers (age 55-76) 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 usership. All the findings from our survey are supported by extensive secondary research across the country.
