The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is considering reducing the commissioning timelines of solar power projects to ensure timely achievement of country’s 100 GW solar target, by 2022. Subsequently, a proposal has been made for amending the competitive bidding guidelines for the procurement of power from grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects.
According to the proposed amendments, solar PV projects inside a solar park will have a commissioning timeline of 15 months from the date of signing of the power purchase agreement (PPA). Of the 15 months, nine months will be provided for financial closure and the remaining six months for construction of the project.
For solar projects set up outside a solar park, or for standalone solar PV projects, a timeframe of 18 month for project commissioning has been proposed. In this case, 12 months will be allowed for financial closure of the project and six months for completing the construction works.
These proposals are in contrast to the amendment recently notified by the Ministry of Power, according to which the commissioning timeframe for projects having capacity below 250 MW has been increased from 13 months to 21 months from the date of PPA execution. For projects with capacity 250 MW or above and located outside a solar park, the commissioning timeframe has been increased from 15 months to 24 months from the date of PPA execution.