Rooftop solar in Surat

In Surat, residential rooftop solar runs about ₹55,000–70,000 per kW and commercial or industrial systems ₹38,000–50,000 per kW. So a 3 kW home system is roughly ₹1.8–2.1 lakh before the ₹78,000 PM Surya Ghar subsidy, and a 50 kW commercial plant is about ₹20–25 lakh with no central subsidy but accelerated depreciation available.

About 1480 units per kW per year in Surat, which works out to roughly 4.1 units per kW per day. A 50 kW system here generates around 74,000 units a year, or about 6,167 units a month.

Roughly 4.4 years for a 50 kW commercial system in Surat, based on local yield of 1480 units per kW per year and a commercial tariff around ₹7.5–8.9 per unit. Residential payback runs longer at four to six years even after subsidy, because home tariffs are lower so each unit saves less.

DGVCL (Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd). DGVCL handles the whole South Gujarat belt. Commercial load sanction here is generally quicker than in Ahmedabad, but transformer capacity in older textile areas is often already committed, which is where surprise upgrade costs come from. Net-metering caps and whether commercial consumers get full net metering or only net billing vary by state, and that distinction changes your savings materially — it is the first thing we check on the call.

Up to ₹78,000, and only for residential rooftops. The structure is ₹30,000 for the first kW, ₹60,000 for 2 kW, and ₹78,000 for any system of 3 kW or more — the subsidy is capped there, so a 10 kW home system receives the same ₹78,000 as a 3 kW one. Commercial, industrial and institutional rooftops get no central subsidy at all under this scheme; their economics come from tariff savings and accelerated depreciation instead.

Roughly 100 square feet per kW for a standard rooftop installation. So 3 kW needs about 300 sq ft of shade-free roof, 50 kW needs about 5,000 sq ft, and 100 kW needs around 10,000 sq ft. Elevated structures over parking or sheds can reduce the footprint penalty, and high-efficiency panels shave perhaps 10–15% off the area, but the 100 sq ft per kW rule is the right starting point for planning.

Yes. Solar power generating systems qualify for accelerated depreciation under the Income Tax Act, which lets a profitable business write off a large share of the asset value in the early years and substantially improves post-tax returns. This is often worth more to a commercial buyer than the residential subsidy is to a homeowner. The exact rate and how it applies to your entity depends on your tax position, so have your CA confirm it before you model returns — we are not tax advisors.