There were some interesting policy developments in India during October announced by various state and central government agencies.

National

The Supreme Court extended the validity of solar and non-solar Renewable Energy Certificates that were due to expire between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018, up to March 31, 2018. According to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), 3,52,814 solar RECs and 9,13,171 non-solar RECs are expected to expire on March 31, 2018.

The Indian government is soon expected to amend laws making obligations under PPAs statutory binding in order to ensure that all power distribution companies (DISCOMs) have PPAs that cover 100 percent of their RPO requirements.

MNRE

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued a draft Technology Development and Innovation Policy (TDIP) for new and renewable energy to further research, development, and demonstration efforts with an eye toward promoting indigenous technology development as well as manufacturing and quality improvements.

State Policies

The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) fixed ₹3.93 (~$0.06)/kWh as the generic tariff for solar PV projects without accelerated depreciation (AD) in Rajasthan. The tariff is levelized for 25 years. The AD component of the tariff was fixed at ₹0.27 (~$0.004)/kWh. The new benchmark tariff with AD is ₹3.66 (~$0.056)/kWh.

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) approved PPAs signed by BESCOM and HESCOM for wind projects totaling 242.50 MW of capacity, subject to the project developers agreeing to a tariff of ₹3.74 (~$0.058)/kWh.

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) amended its regulations for grid-connected rooftop solar net metering in Gujarat. Under the new regulations, the maximum capacity of a rooftop solar PV system installed at any eligible consumer’s premises – except residential consumers – is set at a maximum of 50 percent of the consumer’s sanctioned load/contract demand. For residential consumers, the capacity of the rooftop solar PV system will not be subject to the sanctioned load/contract demand.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Vjsharma89