The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued guidelines for decentralised solar power projects. The new guidelines will apply to distribution companies (discoms) procuring solar power from decentralised solar power projects of capacity more than 2 MW and connected to the rural distribution sub-stations of 33/11 kV, 66/11 kV, and 110/11 kV. The new guidelines state that the bidder should submit a non-refundable processing fee of Rs 10,000 per MW. Also, the net-worth of the bidders should not be less than 20 per cent of the estimated cost of the project.
In November 2019, MNRE revised its National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy to state that the renewable purchase obligation contribution of obligated entities that consume energy from hybrid wind-solar sources must be relatively proportional to the power contributed by each source. As per the MNRE notice, calculation will be based on the declared capacities of each source in the power purchase agreement. Also, the calculation will be based on the actual ratios of each source’s installed capacity instead of the capacity indicated in the PPA, if the actual installed capacity of each source is different from what was declared in the PPA during the implementation of the new regulation.
Recently, MNRE also issued guidelines to implement Component-C of the KUSUM scheme that aims at promoting grid-connected solar pumps. Under Component-C, 1 million grid-connected agricultural pumps of individual capacity up to 7.5 HP are targeted to be solarised by 2022. The new initiative is aimed at ensuring reliable day time power supply for irrigation, reducing the subsidy burden on distribution companies and providing additional sources of income to the farmers.