Key facts
- India's Central Electricity Regulatory Commission allows delayed solar and wind projects to pay to keep grid connectivity.
- Developers will pay $10.48 per megawatt per day to retain grid access if they miss project deadlines.
- A higher fee applies if commercial operations are delayed.
- Developers are granted specific timeframes for land acquisition, financing, and project commissioning.
- The government aims to reach 500 GW of non-hydrocarbon generation capacity by 2030.
India's Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has introduced a new policy allowing solar and wind developers who miss their project deadlines to retain grid connectivity by paying a fee. This measure aims to prevent the underutilization of limited grid resources and encourage the expansion of renewable energy capacity.
Under the new regulations, developers who fail to meet their project timelines can continue to be listed for grid connection but will incur a daily charge equivalent to $10.48 per megawatt. This fee increases threefold if the start of commercial operations is delayed. The regulator has provided grace periods, allowing developers three months for land acquisition, six months for securing financing, and 12 months to commission their completed projects.
This initiative follows recent government efforts to stimulate wind and solar power development, including exemptions from transmission charges for projects delayed due to grid capacity constraints. The relief is contingent upon developers having signed power sale contracts of at least seven years by the end of the current year. Previously, India began phasing out interstate transmission charges for alternative energy projects in July of the previous year.
India has set an ambitious target of achieving 500 GW of non-hydrocarbon generation capacity by 2030. Solar power currently constitutes 29% of the country's non-hydrocarbon capacity, with plans to expand it from 162 GW to over 292 GW by 2030. However, this target faces challenges due to recent legislative changes aimed at reducing reliance on imported solar components from China, particularly in solar cell manufacturing where capacity is limited.