Despite being renewable energy powerhouses, southern states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are among India’s weakest performers in installing rooftop solar on government buildings, data presented by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to Parliament shows — a surprising gap for two states that together account for some of the country’s largest solar and wind capacities.
Under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, states have been asked to solarise every eligible public building. Yet as of November 4, 2025, Tamil Nadu installed just 13.64 megawatt (MW) of rooftop solar across 1,489 government buildings, while Karnataka stands at 33.68 MW across 2,624 buildings. These figures place both southern states far behind national leaders such as Uttar Pradesh (183.62 MW), Delhi (140 MW), Rajasthan (109 MW) and even Bihar (110.23 MW).
This data, however, does not include installations in households under PM Surya Ghar which was launched in February last year.
The contrast is striking because both states have strong renewable footprints — Tamil Nadu leads India in wind capacity, and Karnataka was an early solar leader with landmark projects like Pavagada. But their rooftop solar uptake on government infrastructure remains tepid, pointing to gaps in procurement processes, budget allocation across departments, and the absence of coordinated implementation.
While Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are not the lowest performers in absolute terms, their numbers lag sharply relative to their administrative size, urban infrastructure and renewable-energy maturity. Smaller states with limited public-building stock, such as Goa (2.5 MW) or Nagaland (0.97 MW), rank lower, but expectations from the southern industrial giants are far higher.
MNRE minister of state Shripad Yesso Naik on December 2 told Parliament that no Central Financial Assistance is provided for government-building installations, as rooftop solar is financially viable for public institutions. States have been instructed to utilise vacant rooftops and are being supported by central public sector enterprises with deployment experience. Still, execution remains uneven.
With rooftop solar now central to India’s decentralised energy goals — and public buildings representing the lowest-hanging fruit — the underperformance of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has emerged as an unexpected weak link. Their ability to accelerate installations will significantly influence India’s path toward meeting its distributed solar ambitions under PM Surya Ghar.