Re Targeting of 1,75,000 MW ,a Mission for Energy Security for India

Shri Piyush Goyal , Union Minister of State (IC) for Coal, Power and New and Renewable Energy has said that the target of generating 1,75,000 MW of Renewable energy ( RE) by 2022 should be taken as a mission for ensuring energy security of the country. While addressing the workshop on Grid Connected Solar Rooftop at Vigyan Bhawan today, Shri Goyal further said that Government of India is soliciting ideas and constructive criticism on all the renewable power projects and no amount of negative response can deter Ministry from its dream of achieving this target. India will soon lead the league of pioneer countries of the world in the field of renewable energy. The Minister assured all participants that the intricacies of each and every Renewable energy plan is well thought of in advance for achieving energy security for the nation. The Minister also launched IREDA’s loan scheme for Rooftop Solar PV Power Projects on the occasion. The scheme will provide loans at the interest rate of 9.9 to 10.75 % to the system aggregators and the developers.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pradeep Kumar Sinha, Cabinet Secretary said that India has great potential for solar rooftop projects which has not been exploited fully at present. He informed that Government of India has set a target of 100,000 MW grid connected Solar Power in the country and out of this 40,000 MW has to come from Solar Rooftop systems. To achieve this, Shri Sinha said “We need policy & regulatory interventions. Both Ministries of Power and New and Renewable Energy are working together in these directions. He further added that state regulators have to fix the tariff for RE power which goes to grid. This is important factor in popularising RE programme , Shri Sinha added. Elaborating the several steps being taken by Power Ministry to promote RE , Shri Sinha stated that amendments in the Electricity Act to introduce Renewable Generation obligation is proposed along with raising of Renewable Power Obligation in the tariff policy. In additions, stringent penalties for violations are being proposed. Highlighting importance of evacuation of RE power, Shri Sinha suggested to the States to socialised cost of transmission within State to improve renewable capacity.

In his welcome address, Shri Upendra Tripathy , Secretary MNRE called upon the States/ Ministries /Departments to become partner in transition from Megawatts to Gigawatts . He said target of 175GW of Renewable Energy by 2022 which principally comprise 100GW of solar and out of this 40GW through Rooftop is very challenging and to achieve this needs everyones help. Highlighting the need of more capital required in RE sector , Shri Tripathy said that Ministry has got fund of Rs 5000 crore for rooftop which can be given in the form of interest subvention or 15 percent interest subsidy. He further stated that Ministry is also trying to get 2 billion dollars from World Bank and ADB towards rooftop projects which can be passed on to the banks to enable them to finance the projects on soft rates of interest to the agencies. Shri Tripathy also stated that the Ministry has got commitment of 1 million Euros from kfw and further negotiating with different agencies to get more capital for RE sector. He further told that according to small survey held by the Ministry, projects worth 1500 MW capacity can be placed on rooftops of government departments.

It was emphasized in the workshop that the Distribution Companies should implement regulations relating to net-metering/feed-in-tariff, grid connectivity and the metering arrangements and develop suitable and simple mechanism to promote the solar rooftops in the country. MNRE has provided the financial assistance of Rs. 1 crore to each Ministry of the Government of India to install minimum 1 MW solar plants on their roofs/lands and also in their associated Institutions. Some success cases, including Chandigarh Solar City and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), were presented in the workshop. A review of Government of India’s Solar Energy Programmes and sessions on other renewable energy technologies and programmes, including Small Hydro Power, Biomass Power, Bagasse Cogeneration, SADP, Wind Power, RPOs/RECs, Improved Cook Stoves, HRD, Biogas and Biofuels was also undertaken by the Ministry.

The Secretaries and other officials of Government of India including DMRC and the State Governments participated in the Workshop.