Consumers who have access to a roof and can afford to purchase an RTS system can directly purchase a system from a solar vendor. This is called the Capital Expenditure (Capex) model. Customers own the RTS system and can sell excess energy to the electricity grid.
For Consumers with Roof constraints:
Community Solar Model
Consumers who do not have access to suitable roof space - such as tenants or apartment dwellers, or consumers with small or shaded rooftops - can purchase a share of a third-party-owned solar PV system under the community solar model. Multiple such consumers can also get together to install a collectively owned solar plant on a rooftop owned by a participating consumer.
The electricity generated by the plant and exported to the grid will be pro-rata credited into the electricity bills of each participating consumer based on their ownership share.
Discoms will facilitate this via Virtual Net Metering (VNM) as approved by DERC.
GNCTD will launch a platform where consumers without rooftop access can discover other consumers with rooftop access who are willing to get a rooftop solar system installed on their roofs.
Group Net Metering
Consumers with multiple buildings and service connections, constrained roof space in one property or electricity service connection can benefit from any excess solar energy generated on any other property (one or more), provided these connections are in the same Discom territory.
Discoms shall facilitate this via Group Net Metering (GNM) mechanism as approved by the DERC.
Peer to Peer Trading
Consumers without their own rooftop solar plants will also have the option of purchasing the excess electricity generated by another consumer's rooftop solar plant, if they're willing to sell it, via a peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading platform hosted by GNCTD.
The platform will enable consumers (buyers and sellers) within the same Discom area to discover each other and engage in the trade of solar-generated electricity.
Regulations by DERC are forthcoming.
For Consumers with Capital Constraints
Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) Model
A renewable energy service company (RESCO) develops and owns the rooftop solar system installed on the consumer’s rooftop. The RESCO also makes all the operational expenditures required for the maintenance of the plant, as needed. Customer pays the RESCO for the electricity generated from the RTS system as per PPA terms and receives net metering benefits on their electricity bill.
Hybrid RESCO
Under this arrangement, a tripartite agreement is signed between the consumer, the Discom, and the RESCO developer, such that the consumer receives net metering benefits for the electricity generated by the rooftop solar system installed on their roof and sold by the RESCO developer to the Discom. The Discom bills the consumer for the solar power consumed at the agreed-upon PPA rate, and for electricity imported from the grid as part of a single unified bill. The Discom in turn pays the RESCO developer as per PPA terms.