Comments
The Centre had set a target of 40,000 MW of solar power to be produced by 2022 using grid-interactive rooftop solar projects but little progress has been achieved on that front, primarily because of the reluctance of distribution companies to procure solar power, said a top government official on Wednesday.
The targets were set in 2010 under the first Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.
Distributors’ fear Joint Secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Traun Kapoor told media persons on the sidelines of the Inter Solar India conference, that power distributors feel that their market would be lost if industrial units produce their own power using rooftop solar projects. They fear that their top-end customers could produce their own power depriving (power distributors) of the revenues, he said.
He pointed that it makes a lot of sense for industrial and commercial consumers to invest in rooftop solar projects because in some states such as Maharashtra, the distribution company tariff per unit is about ₹12. The rooftop helps the consumers reduce the cost to ₹7.
Regulation needed Kapoor said that most State power regulatory bodies have come up with regulations for grid-interactive solar. State Governments have also come up policies for this new source of power. But the procedures and inspections take four to six months before solar power is pumped into the grid.
He said that the grid-interactive rooftop solar projects can’t be pushed by force.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.