Feasibility model · Free, no signup
Solar project feasibility
Planning a rooftop, captive or utility solar plant and need the numbers for a bank loan? Pick a project like yours, see what it costs to build, what each unit of power costs, when it pays back, and whether it can carry the loan.
- Starts from typical Indian numbers. Change any of them.
- Download a spreadsheet, print it, or share a link
- A planning check on your numbers, not a bank’s decision
Total investmentEverything it takes to build: panels and installation, land, grid connection, a buffer for surprises, and loan interest during the build.
₹3.98 Cr
Project return (IRR)The yearly return of the plant itself, before any loan. Compare it with the return you need (your hurdle rate).
25.4%
Return on your moneyEquity IRR: the yearly return on the money you put in yourself, after loan repayments. Borrowing makes it swing more, both ways.
50.9%
Pick a starting point or set the six key numbers, read the result, then fine-tune anything below. Download, print or share a link to this exact model.
A 1 MWp plant costs ₹3.98 Cr to build (₹39.8 a watt), makes power at ₹3.96 a unit, pays back in 3.8 years and returns 50.9% a year on your own money. The detail is below.
A planning check on the numbers entered, not a lender’s decision. Banks run their own appraisal.
Your project
Start from a project like yours, then set the six numbers that drive everything: plant size, what each unit earns or saves, how much sun the site gets, the installation price per watt, how much you borrow and at what rate. Everything else (upkeep, tax, depreciation) starts at a typical Indian figure you can change further down.
Pick a starting point. Each one is an illustration built from typical Indian numbers, not a recommendation and not ClarWorks data. Change anything after.
What it costs and what it returns
These update as soon as you change any number. The “usual” ranges are rough planning ranges from public sources, not ClarWorks data and not a promise.
Building 1 MWp of solar costs ₹3.98 Cr all in, or ₹39.8 a watt (within the usual ₹32–45 for factory and commercial rooftops). At 16% of its maximum possible output over a year (CUF), it makes 14.0 lakh units of power a year, saving ₹1.12 Cr a year at ₹8 a unit and keeping ₹1.05 Cr as operating profit, a 94% margin (solar costs very little to run). Over the plant’s life each unit costs ₹3.96 to make, against the ₹8 it saves. It pays back in 3.8 years and returns 25.4% a year on the whole project and 50.9% a year on your own money over 25 years. That is ₹5.42 Cr ahead of the 10% a year you set as your minimum return.
Bottom line: Works at these numbers
Total investmentEverything it takes to build: panels and installation, land, grid connection, a buffer for surprises and loan interest during the build. Cost per peak watt (₹/Wp) is how Indian solar prices are quoted, so it always shows in rupees.
₹3.98 Cr
₹39.8 per watt
Inside the usual ₹32–₹45/Wp
Savings a yearWhat the plant takes off your electricity bill each year (or earns after open-access grid charges), before running costs.
₹1.12 Cr
14.0 lakh units a year
Operating profit a yearEBITDA: what is left of the year’s earnings after upkeep, insurance and land lease, before loan interest, depreciation and tax.
₹1.05 Cr
94% margin
Above the usual 80–90%
PaybackYears of operation until the cash the plant earns covers what went in. Rooftop and captive projects usually take 3–5 years; plants selling power at auction prices 8–12 years.
3.8 years
Inside the usual 3–5 yr
Project return (IRR)The yearly return of the plant itself, before any loan. Compare it with the minimum return you want (your hurdle rate).
25.4%
Return on your moneyEquity IRR: the yearly return on the money you put in yourself, after loan repayments. Borrowing makes it swing more, both ways. For a profitable company, the fast tax write-off on solar (40% a year, reducing balance) lifts it further.
50.9%
Value above your hurdle (NPV)Net present value: all future cash in today’s money, minus the investment, at your minimum return. Above zero means the project beats it.
₹5.42 Cr
Your money at peakThe most of your own money that is in the project at any point before it starts paying you back: the cheque you must be able to write.
₹1.19 Cr
Lowest loan cover (DSCR)Debt service coverage ratio in the worst year: cash available ÷ loan repayment. Banks usually look for at least 1.2–1.3×; below 1.0 the plant can’t pay its EMI from its own cash that year.
1.79×
Money back per ₹1 you put inEquity multiple: total cash returned to you for every rupee of your own money, over the years modelled.
19.57×
Cost per unit (LCOE)Levelised cost of energy: what each unit costs to make over the plant’s life, in today’s money. Compare it with the tariff you earn or save. Always shown in rupees.
₹3.96/kWh
Inside the usual ₹2.5–₹4/kWh
Break-even tariffThe price per unit at which the plant only just earns your minimum return. Your cushion is the gap between this and what you actually earn or save.
₹3.45/kWh
Cash position over time
Fine-tune the assumptions
Each section below opens to show the detail. Change any number and the result above updates straight away.
Output and tariff
1.4 GWh in year 1 · ₹8 a unit, rising 3% a year · output falls 0.5% a year. Open to change these.
Set-up cost (CapEx)
₹3.98 Cr in total, ₹39.8 a watt: installation ₹3.8 Cr, land ₹0, other costs ₹3 L, plus a buffer for surprises. Open to change land, build time and each cost line.
Running costs (OpEx)
Running costs ₹6.99 L in year 1 · 94% operating margin. Open to change upkeep, insurance, land lease and yearly increases.
Loan, tax and the year-by-year P&L
70% loan at 10.5% over 10 years · 40% reducing-balance depreciation · lowest loan cover 1.79×. Open for the loan terms, tax and the profit and loss for every year.
Output and carbon saved
1,402 MWh a year · 1,402 units per kWp · 995 tonnes of CO₂ avoided a year. Open for output, cost per unit and carbon.
Charts
Where the money goes, when it pays back, revenue against running costs, profit over time, output as panels age, and loan cover.
Stress test
What breaks the case first? Move one number (tariff, output, set-up cost and more), see which matters most, change two at once, or work back from the return you want.
Compare scenarios
Save the numbers you have now as a scenario, change them, save again, and compare side by side. Saved scenarios stay in this browser tab only.
Advisory · Project report and bank finance
Taking this to a bank? Get the numbers checked first.
We go through your model with you: the assumptions, the costs, the loan structure and the risks. If you need one, we write the detailed project report your bank will appraise. The loan decision is always the bank’s; our job is to make your case clear and complete.
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