How Lucknow became India’s solar panel capital, leaving Surat behind

Lucknow has a solar presence that announces itself at every scale. Govt offices have panels on their rooftops. School buildings and hospitals sport panels. So do banks and petrol pumps. Cross a flyover or ride the above-ground metro, and panels are visible on rooftop after rooftop below. Inside Lucknow’s metro stations, billboards ask in Hindi: “Aap kab laga rahe hain solar (When will you install solar)?” It is a question that over one lakh families in the city have already answered. From a paan vendor near the barage flyover who bought a panel two days ago for Rs 3,000, to a jhuggi in Indira Nagar fitted with rooftop solar, the city has quietly overtaken Surat to become the district with the highest solar installations in India. Saman Husain traces Lucknow's solar blueprint. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exclusive content, special privileges & more – Subscribe to ThePrint for Special benefits: https://theprint.in/subscribe/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Connect with ThePrint » Subscribe to ThePrint: https://theprint.in/subscribe/ » Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3nCMpht » Like us on Facebook:   / theprintindia   » Tweet us on Twitter:   / theprintindia   » Follow us on Instagram:   / theprintindia   » Find us on LinkedIn :   / theprint   » Subscribe to ThePrint on Telegram: https://t.me/ThePrintIndia » Find us on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2NMVlnB » Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pEOta8