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<p><em>The capacity is divided into seven projects of 10 MW each</em></p>
<p>The West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="http://www.wberc.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WBERC</a>) has given its approval for the investment proposal for 70 MW of solar projects in four districts of the state, including Paschim Bardhaman, Purulia, Bankura, and Paschim Medinipur.</p>
<p>The approved amount totals to ₹4,092.4 million (~$58 million), while the estimated cost of the project is ₹3,597.6 million (~$51 million).</p>
<p>The WBERC has also ordered the state DISCOMs that within a period of three months from the issue of the order, they should submit their power requirement plans from solar and non-solar sources to fulfill their RPO compliance.</p>
<p>However, the commission has clearly stated that WBSEDCL (the state DISCOM) should not make any progress towards the implementation of a project before obtaining the commission’s approval as mentioned in the tariff regulations.</p>
<p>The commission also observed that the WBSEDCL should submit a proper analysis of future power procurement from the solar and other renewable and co-generation sources.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a.jpg"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16239" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a.jpg" alt="West Bengal Approved List" width="591" height="264" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a.jpg 591w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a-300x134.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 591px) 100vw, 591px" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Background    </strong></p>
<p>The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited had filed a petition in June 2018, seeking “in-principle” clearance in for the investment proposal to install and commission 70 MW solar PV power projects at seven locations in the districts of Paschim Bardhaman, Purulia, Bankura, and Paschim Medinipur, to fulfil its renewable purchase obligation requirement.</p>
<p>Referring to the petition of Chalbalpur in the district of Paschim Medinipur, the state had granted its approval to provide a fund of ₹525 million (~$7.44 million) to be arranged from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) under the RIDF Tranche XXIV. The WBSEDCL submitted the total estimated project cost of ₹448 million (~$6.35 million) for Chalbalpur, which was well within the approved amount of ₹525 million (~$7.44 million) by the state.</p>
<p>WBSEDCL had also submitted six more applications, and the total annual generation from all the proposed seven projects, including the one in Chalbalpur, aggregates to a total of  70 MW, which is expected to be 131.48 million units.</p>
<p>The state DISCOM has a renewable purchase obligation (RPO) target for the year 2019-20 pegged at 8.0%, including a solar target of 0.50%.</p>
<p>In April 2019, Mercom reported that CESC Limited, a distribution company in West Bengal, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/west-bengal-200-mw-solar-rpo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> a notice inviting expressions of interest from interested bidders to procure 200 MW of solar power on a short-term basis. It was aimed to help the DISCOM meet its renewable purchase obligation from the existing solar PV projects.</p>
<p>The fulfillment of RPO, both solar and non-solar, is gradually assuming greater significance in the country with the DISCOMs learning to take it more seriously as regulatory commissions have started <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bihar-discoms-penalized-not-fulfilling-rpo-shortfall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cracking down</a>.</p>
<p>According to Mercom’s <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-project-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India Solar Project Tracker</a>, the state has an installed solar capacity of 94 MW as of September 2019, while a total of 64 MW of solar projects are under development currently.</p>
<p>Image credit: Scatec Solar</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/anjana/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Anjana Parikh</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Anjana2.png" width="112" height="121" />Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.</p>
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West Bengal Approves Investment Proposal for 70 MW of Solar Projects

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