Commercial and Industrial Solar in Coimbatore

Coimbatore is called the Pump City for good reason. The district makes a major share of India's pumps and motors, has more than 700 wet grinder makers behind the GI-registered Coimbatore Wet Grinder, and adds textile mills, foundries and auto components on top. Most of that work runs on daytime power, the hours solar generates.

The sun helps too. Global Solar Atlas puts a rooftop plant in Coimbatore at about 1,590 to 1,610 units per kW a year, against about 1,565 in Chennai, roughly 2 to 3 percent more, helped by slightly cooler air. We take on factory and commercial rooftops across the district, from TANSIDCO Kurichi and Malumichampatti to the Sulur parks.

What decides the answer here

• Most small units are on LT IIIB, paying ₹8.25 a unit and only ₹0.80 network charge on solar, half the standard ₹1.60.
• Larger units on HT I pay ₹7.50 a unit plus a demand charge, and ₹1.04 network charge on solar.
• Coimbatore yields about 1,600 units per kW a year, slightly more than Chennai.
• Foundry dust means more cleaning. Plan the cleaning schedule and water access at the design stage.
• No capital subsidy for business. 40 percent accelerated depreciation, plus 20 percent additional depreciation for manufacturers outside the 22 percent regime.

Where Coimbatore's industry sits

• TANSIDCO estates: Kurichi (88.43 acres, the largest), Malumichampatti and Kalapatti.
• Private industrial parks: the CODISSIA Industrial Parks at Kallapalayam and Moopiripalayam in Sulur taluk, the COSIEMA park at Solavampalayam and Anna Industrial Park at Kittampalayam.
• IT: TIDEL Park Coimbatore in the ELCOSEZ at Vilankurichi.
• Beyond the district: SIPCOT Perundurai in Erode and the Tiruppur textile belt.

There is no SIPCOT park inside Coimbatore district, so most units sit on TANSIDCO estates, private parks or their own land, usually in sheet-roof sheds that carry solar well after a structural check.

What each sector should know

Pumps, motors and wet grinders

Machining, winding and testing run through the day shift, so most generation is used on site. Testing loads come in bursts; size to the steady daytime load, not to the test bench peak.

Foundries

Coimbatore is one of India's largest foundry clusters. Melting is a heavy load, but it often runs on HT supply and partly at night, so check the time-of-day pattern before sizing. Dust settles on modules quickly; budget for more frequent cleaning and keep a water point on the roof.

Textile mills and spinning

Spinning runs round the clock, so a rooftop covers only part of the load, and every unit it makes is used. See solar for textile mills for the mill-specific figures.

Offices and IT

IT units pay the industrial tariff in Tamil Nadu; other offices pay the commercial rate. See solar for offices and IT parks.

Tariffs and what solar saves in Coimbatore

The tariffs are the same across Tamil Nadu. What Coimbatore adds is a little more generation per kW.

Exported units earn ₹3.37 for 11 to 150 kW and ₹3.10 for 151 to 999 kW, less the network charge. The network charge itself is before the Madras High Court in a batch of appeals that began with a Coimbatore mill; a 2025 stay keeps it billable for now.

What a Coimbatore plant earns

A 100 kW plant on an LT IIIB pump or engineering unit, at about 1,600 units per kW a year and 90 percent self-use, saves about ₹11.1 lakh a year. At ₹41 to ₹47 lakh including GST, about ₹37.6 to ₹43.2 lakh before GST, that is a simple payback of about 3.4 to 3.9 years before depreciation. See 100 kW solar plant cost and commercial solar cost per kW for other sizes.

Finance and tax

There is no capital subsidy for a business plant. Coimbatore units get accelerated depreciation at 40 percent, additional depreciation of 20 percent for manufacturers outside the 22 percent regime, GST input credit on a turnkey contract taxed near 8.9 percent, and bank finance such as SBI Surya Shakti and Indian Bank IND-SURYA SHAKTI. Our page on solar for MSMEs in Tamil Nadu sets out the loans and the MSME rules in detail.

Frequently asked questions

Is solar worth it for a factory in Coimbatore?

Usually yes. A 100 kW plant on an LT IIIB unit using 90 percent of its solar saves about ₹11.1 lakh a year, a simple payback of about 3.4 to 3.9 years before depreciation. Coimbatore yields slightly more per kW than Chennai.

How many units does 1 kW of solar generate in Coimbatore?

About 1,600 units a year, roughly 4.4 a day on average. Global Solar Atlas gives about 1,590 to 1,610 kWh per kWp a year across Coimbatore, about 2 to 3 percent more than Chennai.

Is there a subsidy for industrial solar in Coimbatore?

No capital subsidy. PM Surya Ghar is residential. Industrial units on LT IIIB pay half the network charge on solar, ₹0.80 a unit, and every business gets 40 percent accelerated depreciation.

Can solar be installed on a sheet-roof shed in Kurichi or Malumichampatti?

Yes, after a structural check of the purlins. Sheet roofs take modules on rails clamped to the sheeting profile, without piercing it, at about 80 to 100 sq ft per kW.

Do Coimbatore foundries need special care with solar?

Mostly cleaning. Foundry dust settles on modules and cuts output, so plan more frequent cleaning and a water point on the roof, and check whether melting runs at night before sizing the plant.

Send your bills and a roof photo

Twelve months of bills, the tariff category, the sanctioned load and a photograph of the shed roof are enough for a sizing and payback estimate for a Coimbatore unit.

We will tell you the size the daytime load supports and what it earns. For sites elsewhere in the state see our page on the solar EPC company in Tamil Nadu.

Sources

Coimbatore District Administration (NIC), Economy: pump city, wet grinder makers, textiles, auto components

Government of Tamil Nadu MSME Department, District Export Action Plan, Coimbatore District: sectors, TANSIDCO estates and private industrial parks

IP India GI Registry, Coimbatore Wet Grinder, GI Application No. 26, certificate No. 23

TANSIDCO, industrial estates list; SIPCOT, industrial parks list (accessed 21 October 2026)

TN IT and Digital Services Department, ELCOSEZ Coimbatore-Vilankurichi

World Bank / ESMAP Global Solar Atlas (Solargis), long-term PV output for Coimbatore and Chennai, queried 21 October 2026

TNERC, Suo-motu Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025; TNERC, Order No. 4 of 2026 (₹0.80 LT IIIB network charge)

Energetica India, May 2025: Madras High Court stay in the rooftop network charge appeals

Income-tax Rules 2026, Appendix I item 8(xiii); SBI Surya Shakti and Indian Bank IND-SURYA SHAKTI product pages