Development of a comprehensive Rooftop Solar PV Index using DVF framework of Design Thinking

Abstract

The importance of the Rooftop solar segment lies in its potential to transform the energy landscape, offering cleaner, more sustainable, affordable energy solutions while contributing to the environment, economy, and society as a whole. India, in particular, has been witnessing significant growth in the deployment of Rooftop Solar PV; however, despite the best efforts, there are bottlenecks and challenges that are affecting the further spread of rooftop solar PV and needs to be tackled at various levels to accelerate the adoption of the technology. In this work, the authors have presented an Index framework that could be used as a methodical tool to analyze and evaluate the rooftop Solar PV performance and simultaneously identify the bottlenecks. This paper presents the development of a comprehensive and detailed rooftop Solar Index framework incorporating the DVF framework of Design Thinking that includes the principles of User Desirability, Technological Feasibility, and Business Viability for the process development. The developed index framework segregates the variables that categorize the rooftop sector into 3 drivers, 5 sub-drivers, and 20 parameters that are linked to multiple indicators of interest. The chosen variables of interest have been validated using Co-relation coefficient analysis and the weights have been assigned by Domain Experts or Specialists using Modified Borda's Technique & Analytical Hierarchical Process. The index has also been used to compare the performance of two chosen states across India & highlight a few key bottlenecks. The developed index is of critical importance to access the performance of the rooftop solar sector & could be used by multiple stakeholders like policymakers, investors, consumers, and entrepreneurs to ensure a wide proliferation of rooftop solar PV technology.