'Only 10% of urban households...': Zerodha's Nithin Kamath has a solution to slash your power bills

Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath in a post on X pointed to a significant barrier to solar adoption among urban Indians: the lack of viable solutions for those without roof space, such as apartment dwellers or renters. 

"Today, if you want to install solar panels but don't have the necessary roof space, there's no solution," Kamath wrote, adding that despite available subsidies, only about 10% of urban households have adopted rooftop solar. 

"Many people want to be sustainable but can't do anything about it."

Kamath in the post mentioned SundayGrids, which offers a workaround to this problem. 

How does SundayGrids work?

"SundayGrids sets up solar power plants in other locations and allows people to reserve part of the capacity," he explained. The credits generated from these plants can be used to reduce power bills, even though the plant itself is located elsewhere. "This approach is now live across India, making solar accessible to the masses."

On the commercial side, while many commercial and industrial (C&I) buildings have the required rooftop space and need electricity, they often lack the capital for solar installations. SundayGrids offers a solution where residential users can pool their capital to install solar farms on the rooftops of C&I buildings.

The power generated is used on-site by the commercial user, and the revenue generated is credited to the residential investors' electricity bills.

This virtual model allows residential users to act as investors without needing a direct link between their electricity needs and the amount of solar capacity they reserve. 

The concept of gross and net metering plays a crucial role in this model. In rooftop solar, the residential user is both a consumer and producer, or a ‘prosumer’. However, with the SundayGrids model, the power is generated on behalf of the residential user and consumed by a commercial user, exploiting tariff arbitrage through gross metering.

SundayGrids platform has been likened to "BookMyShow of solar power," where residential users can reserve a portfolio of solar installations listed across the country.