The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has released the draft second amendment to the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (Green Energy Open Access, Charges, and Banking) Regulation, 2024 (Regulation No. 3 of 2024).
The draft amendment describes hybrid renewable energy projects as those generating electricity through a combination of renewable energy sources. These sources may be connected either at a common interconnection point or at separate interconnection points. It specifies that the rated capacity of one renewable source must be at least 25 per cent of the capacity of the other source, regardless of whether they operate at the same or different interconnection points. Additionally, the amendment requires that every 1 MW of contracted wind-solar hybrid capacity meet a minimum capacity utilisation factor of 40 per cent.
Furthermore, the amendment proposes that non-co-located hybrid renewable energy systems will be considered as a single generating project. The overall capacity of the hybrid project will serve as the reference for scheduling each constituent energy system. This will apply regardless of the individual installed capacities of the sources. However, separate schedules will still need to be submitted for each system.
Moreover, the injected energy from the hybrid project will be scheduled on a source-wise basis at the interconnection point for the purposes of settlement, deviation accounting, and forecasting. Connectivity for each source will be granted by transmission or distribution companies, subject to standard technical feasibility norms. Individual components of the hybrid project may be connected at any location within Andhra Pradesh.
