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Ground-mounted solar and open access for business

When your roof cannot carry enough solar for your load, there are two other routes: a ground-mounted plant on your own land, or solar supplied to you through open access. Ray2Volt designs and builds both.

Two routes when the roof is not enough

Which one fits depends on your load, whether you have spare land inside your premises, and whether the plant will send power to the grid.

Ground-mounted plant or open access: Andhra Pradesh rules as of 23 September 2026
Ground-mounted, on your own land Open access
Where the plant sits On open land inside your premises, behind your meter Away from your site; the power reaches you over the DISCOM or APTRANSCO network
Who can use it Your business, on the premises where the plant is built Consumers with a contracted demand or sanctioned load of 100 kW or more, on one connection or several in the same electricity division; captive users have no load limit
Size limit No capacity limit if the plant does not export to the grid; if it exports, 500 kWp under net metering, or 1,000 kWp or your CMD (whichever is less) under net billing Sized to your consumption; banking is limited to 30% of the power you take from the DISCOM each month
Approvals No prior permission for a no-export plant, but you must tell the DISCOM at least 72 hours before installation An open access application to the nodal agency: APSLDC for short-term, APTRANSCO for medium- and long-term
Charges No cross-subsidy or additional surcharge; grid support charges if the plant is connected to the grid Transmission, wheeling, banking, SLDC and other network charges; third-party buyers also pay cross-subsidy surcharge, captive users do not
Best for Sites with spare land inside the boundary and a daytime load Loads of 100 kW or more, or sites with no spare land, where a plant elsewhere makes sense

A ground-mounted plant on your premises

APERC's solar regulation (Regulation 4 of 2023) covers solar panels on roofs, on walls and on open land within your premises. So a plant on spare land inside your boundary is connected under the same regulation as a rooftop plant.

The power is used on site as it is generated. The main question is whether the plant will send any power to the grid, because that decides which limits apply.

  • Behind the meter, no export: there is no capacity limit, and no prior permission or feasibility approval is needed.
  • 72-hour intimation: you must tell the DISCOM at least 72 hours before installation. The DISCOM checks that the system cannot export, and you give an undertaking to pay the applicable charges.
  • If the plant exports: net metering allows up to 500 kWp; net billing allows up to 1,000 kWp or your contracted maximum demand (CMD), whichever is less.
  • Surcharges: a behind-the-meter plant pays no cross-subsidy or additional surcharge, whether you fund it or a third party does.
  • Grid support charges: these apply if the plant is connected to the grid; a plant that is not connected to the grid interface is exempt.

What suits a ground-mounted plant

  • Spare open land inside the premises boundary
  • Roofs that are shaded, weak or too small
  • Daytime loads larger than the roof can cover
  • Sites that want to keep the roof free

Solar through open access

Open access lets your business take solar power from a plant that is not at your site. The power travels over the DISCOM or APTRANSCO network, and you pay charges for using it. In Andhra Pradesh this is governed by APERC's Green Energy Open Access Regulation (Regulation 3 of 2024).

Under captive use, you hold at least 26% of the plant's ownership and use at least 51% of the power it generates in the financial year. Under third-party sale, you buy the power from a plant owned by someone else.

  • Eligibility: a contracted demand or sanctioned load of 100 kW or more, on one connection or on several connections in the same electricity division added together.
  • Captive users: there is no load limit.
  • Banking: settled month by month, and banked energy must be used in the same calendar month. The banking charge is 8% of the energy banked, and you can bank up to 30% of the power you take from the DISCOM that month.
  • Charges: transmission and wheeling charges, banking charges, SLDC fees, scheduling and deviation charges, losses and a processing fee, among others. Third-party buyers also pay cross-subsidy surcharge.
  • Captive exemption: captive users pay no cross-subsidy surcharge or additional surcharge.

Open access can suit

  • Loads of 100 kW or more that the site cannot cover with its own plant
  • Businesses with several connections in the same electricity division
  • Businesses ready to own at least 26% of a plant for captive use
  • Sites with steady use through the month, since banked energy cannot be carried over

How a project runs with Ray2Volt

  1. We look at your load, bills and land

    We go through your electricity bills, how your load runs through the day, and any land you have inside or away from your premises.

  2. We suggest a route and a size

    We compare a ground-mounted plant and open access for your site, and size the plant to your consumption and the rules that apply.

  3. We prepare the paperwork with you

    We prepare and file the paperwork with you: the DISCOM intimation for a behind-the-meter plant, or the open access and connectivity applications. The decisions rest with the DISCOM and the nodal agencies.

  4. We build, commission and service the plant

    We install and commission the plant, and service it after handover.

Rules and charges change with APERC orders; the figures on this page are as of 23 September 2026, and we check the current order for your project.

Sources

Not sure which route fits your site?

Send us a recent electricity bill and tell us about your land or your load, and we'll suggest a route.

Get a business proposal Send your bill