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					</table>The <a href="https://mp.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Madhya Pradesh</a> government has issued guidelines for implementing pumped storage projects (PSPs) with incentives announced under the state’s renewable energy policy.
The state’s ‘Scheme for Implementation of Pumped Hydro Storage Project in Madhya Pradesh’ will be implemented in tandem with its renewable energy policy issued in 2022.
The policy will be valid for 10 years.
The Office of Commissioner will be the nodal agency for PSP projects.
The nodal agency for the PSP will allocate the site to the central and state public sector undertakings, the authority set by the Indian or Madhya Pradesh governments, the state project development authority, and the developer.
PSP projects can be implemented in four ways under these guidelines:
Mode I- Allotment of PSP Sites to CPSUs, PSUs, and Government Authority
The nodal agency may allot on-stream or off-stream PSP sites on a nomination basis to the central and state public undertakings and government authority under the Indian and Madhya Pradesh governments.
The Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company (MPPMCL) will have the right of first refusal of up to 100% of capacity of the projects developed under this Mode.
Mode II- Allocation to Developers
The State Project Development Authority (SPDA) will allocate the PSP site through competitive bidding.
MPPMCL will have no right of first refusal on the project capacity.
Mode III- Projects for DISCOMs and Public Organisations’ Use
The developer will be chosen through a competitive bidding process.
The PSP project can be developed under a tolling tariff model or for a PSP site with a solar project in a solar park. The SPDA must develop the solar park under the composite tariff model.
Government land for the projects will be provided at a discounted rate of up to 35%.
This land will be transferred back after 25 to 40 years.
SPDA must form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for undertaking the project with a minimum shareholding of ₹100,000 (~$1,148.64). The SPV will be transferred to the successful bidder upon submission of the cost of the total shareholding value in the company and SPDA’s SPV operating expenditure.
SPDA must issue a detailed project report for the project.
Allotment of government land will occur in phases.
The initial allotment letter will be provided with the submission of a bank guarantee of ₹100,00 (~$1,148.64)/MW. The letter will give the developer exclusive rights to the PSP site for one and a half years.
The developer can also be provided an intermediate allotment upon meeting various criteria. The bank guarantee paid to the nodal agency will be reduced to ₹50,000 (~$574.32)/MW upon issuing the intermediate allotment. The intermediate allotment will allow the developer to a stake claim on the site/project for three years or until permanent allocation.
The project will be allocated for permanent development after the developer submits a construction bank guarantee for ₹25,000 (~$287.16)/MW.
Mode IV- Self-Identification by Developers
Developers may self-identify potential off-stream sites not identified under Mode I, II, and III.
The nodal agency will provisionally allot the site to the developer.
It will open an online window for receiving applications for allotment of the PSP site.
Developers quoting the highest operating PSP capacity, operating power generating assets, and net worth will receive allotment priority.
Alternatively, the earliest bid will receive the priority.
MPPMCL will have the right of first refusal for up to 50% of the project capacity.
The provision for phased allocation of the PSP projects will not apply to non-government lands.
For projects spanning different states, the right of first refusal will be reduced to half.
SPDA can conduct a bidding process for power procurement from the energy storage facility by submitting bid process management fees of ₹100,000 (~$1,148.64)/MW.
Viability Gap Funding (VGF)
Projects under Mode III can avail the central and state government’s VGF if MPPMCL purchases all the power.
Incentives
<ul>
<li>The PSP projects can avail of incentives under the state’s renewable energy policy.</li>
<li>Electricity duty will not apply to pumping power for charging PSP projects but will be levied on the final electricity consumption. This provision will be extended for 10 years. Additionally, no energy development cess will be payable on the power supplied by the PSP projects for 10 years.</li>
<li>Reimbursement of stamp duty up to 65% will be provided.</li>
<li>There will be a 50% waiver on wheeling charges for five years.</li>
<li>There will be an exemption of registration and facilitation fees of up to 20%.</li>
<li>Suppose the developer constructs a joint project consisting of a PSP and a project for supplying input energy to the PSP. In that case, the program’s incentives will only apply to the PSP project.</li>
</ul>
Charges
The developer must pay project registration, facilitation charges, and rehabilitation and resettlement charges.
Timeline
Projects under Mode I, II, and III must be completed within seven years of the award. A one-year extension can be provided for projects delayed due to environmental and forest clearance delays.
However, projects under Mode IV must be completed within four years.
The Madhya Pradesh government’s New and Renewable Energy Department recently <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/madhya-pradesh-targets-meeting-50-of-power-needs-from-renewables-by-2030#:~:text=The%20Madhya%20Pradesh%20government's%20New,of%20at%20least%20500%20kW." target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> the Madhya Pradesh Renewable Energy Policy 2025, targeting 50% of annual power consumption from renewable energy resources by 2030.
Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.

Madhya Pradesh Issues Implementation Guidelines for Pumped Storage Projects

The capacity is divided into seven projects of 10 MW each
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" 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>
Background    
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.
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.
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.
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%.
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.
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>.
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.
Image credit: Scatec Solar

West Bengal Approves Investment Proposal for 70 MW of Solar Projects

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has once again extended the deadline for the self-certification of solar inverters through the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The deadline has now been extended from September 30, 2019, to December 31, 2019.
Considering the issues relating to testing, and the level of preparation of test labs, the industry had sought more time for compliance, and therefore the ministry has extended the deadline again.
However, the deadline is subject to the condition that manufacturers have valid International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) accreditation and test reports from international test labs for the smooth implementation of the order.
The ministry had earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-solar-inverters-deadline-bis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">extended</a> the deadline for BIS certification of solar inverters from June 30, 2019, to September 30, 2019. Prior to this, the deadline was <a href="https://mercomindia.com/deadline-bis-certification-solar-inverters-extended/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">extended</a> by six months to June 30, 2019.
Previously, Mercom has <a href="https://mercomindia.com/confusion-bis-certification-inverters/">written</a> about the struggles of inverter manufacturers in gaining clarity on the ambiguous BIS certification process. The unavailability of labs, lack of testing facilities and workforce, unreasonable costs of testing, absence of series guidelines, and confusion regarding MNRE notifications were some of the issues that have made the compliance of the order “Solar Photovoltaics Systems, Devices and Component Goods Order 2017” extremely difficult. Through several interviews with inverter suppliers, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-quality-tests-good-fronius-india-interview/">found</a> out that the cost of BIS certification is also a cause of concern for the inverter suppliers apart from the time-taking process.
Realizing the need for quality products to be used in the rapidly expanding solar projects, the government had mandated that the tests must be conducted by labs for compulsory registration with the BIS for the implementation of the quality order. Since the notification was released on September 5, 2017, the deadline has been extended several times as the industry has been seeking more and more time for the compliance of the order due to a lack of lab facilities.
Meanwhile, in August 2019, the ministry <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-approves-series-guidelines-solar-inverters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">approved</a> the series guidelines for grouping solar inverters. These series guidelines pertain to conducting tests in laboratories for the implementation of the quality control order. The draft guidelines were <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-issues-draft-guidelines-for-solar-inverters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">introduced</a> by the ministry in April 2019. As inverters are of varying sizes, ratings, and type, they need to be grouped in categories for submitting samples to test labs.
Though the deadline has been extended, the relief to the solar inverter manufacturers is only for 90 days of which 23 days are already past and the problem of inadequate labs lingers on.
Image credit: Photo by Scott Ely. – U.S. Department of Energy from United States [Public domain]

BIS Certification for Solar Inverters Gets Deadline Extension of Three Months

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