CHENNAI: Coimbatore has emerged as Tamil Nadu's leading district in rooftop solar installations under the Centre's PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, overtaking Chennai, which ranked second, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
As of July 20, 2026, Coimbatore had recorded 10,725 rooftop solar installations benefiting 15,889 households, while Chennai followed with 9,410 installations covering 12,788 households. Chengalpattu ranked third with 6,428 installations and 10,698 beneficiary households.
Overall, Tamil Nadu has installed 83,906 residential rooftop solar systems under the scheme since its launch in February 2024, benefiting 99,321 households across the State.
Replying to a starred question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is a demand-driven scheme available to all residential consumers with grid-connected electricity connections in both urban and rural areas. Applications are processed through the National Portal.
The Centre said it has released Rs 576.66 crore for the scheme in Tamil Nadu since February 2024, resulting in the creation of 303.63 MW of rooftop solar capacity.
Among other districts, Tiruchirappalli (3,899), Namakkal (3,826), Tiruppur (3,790), Thiruvallur (3,560) and Madurai (3,358) also recorded strong adoption. At the other end of the scale, The Nilgiris reported the fewest installations at 122, followed by Ariyalur (206), Perambalur (283) and Nagapattinam (344).
The Ministry said it has introduced measures including an end-to-end online application and subsidy disbursal process, concessional collateral-free loans, simplified approvals, streamlined vendor registration, awareness campaigns and strengthened monitoring to accelerate rooftop solar adoption across the country.