Chennai, 18 July (H.S.) : Tamil Nadu has a massive potential to generate solar power, with the capability to produce up to one trillion watt hours (203 terawatt-hours) of electricity annually through distributed solar energy systems. This amount of energy could meet almost all of Tamil Nadu's projected power demand for 2030-31 and about 82% of the requirement for 2034-35. Despite this huge potential, Tamil Nadu has tapped less than 1% of it as of April 2025.

Of the total distributed solar energy resources (DER) potential of 1.29 lakh megawatts (MW) in Tamil Nadu, rooftop solar (RTS) installations alone account for a potential of 60,479 MW. However, the state has installed just 1,003 MW of RTS capacity, achieving only 1.66% of its rooftop potential and falling short of earlier policy targets.

A report by Auroville Consulting highlights the need for urgent and strategic policy interventions to unlock Tamil Nadu's distributed solar potential. The report recommends moving beyond rooftop installations to actively promote other DER technologies like floating solar, canal-top photovoltaics, rail and road-integrated systems, and building-integrated photovoltaics. Currently, none of these technologies have seen deployment in Tamil Nadu despite having an estimated potential of over 68,000 MW.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary