The government of Haryana launched the Haryana Solar Power Policy 2014 to give a boost to solar power generation across the state. The policy was launched in September 2014, and its rules and guidelines will remain operational up to March 31, 2017.
Objectives
The Haryana State Power Policy 2014 is in line with the National Solar Mission, which was initiated to boost the solar power generation capacity of the country and focus more on renewable energy. The objectives of this policy are:
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To boost the generation of renewable power in the state using solar energy
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To create a conducive environment for the private and public sectors, which encourages them to participate in setting up solar energy-based projects in the state by way of the PPP (public private partnership) model
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To make productive use of wastelands/non-agricultural land in order to promote uniform development across the state
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To generate employment for the youth
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To provide a conducive and enabling investment climate that would leverage the merits of the clean development mechanism (CDM)
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To co-create solar centres of excellence and create a talent pool of technical professionals working towards applied research and the commercialisation of solar energy and solar equipment
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To decentralise and expand the scope for energy investment and to augment the share of renewable solar power
To achieve the objectives of this policy, the targets defined by the government are diverse. Under the solar policy of 2014, the Haryana government aims at installing grid-connected solar power across the state in the following ways:
Reverse bidding (RB): Under the RB process, the state will develop solar power plants of 1MW to 10MW capacity to the extent of fulfilling the solar renewable purchase obligation. The promotion of solar projects will be done in two phases. In both the phases, 50MW capacities will be selected through reverse bidding based on the highest discount offered on the levelised tariff fixed by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) for solar power plants. Discoms in Haryana will purchase the entire power of the solar power plant.
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM): Under JNNSM, the state will support and get MW scale solar photovoltaic (SPV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) plants set up across the state. Eight SPV power projects, approved by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), amounting to a total capacity of 7.8MW have been commissioned under Phase-1 of JNNSM and are currently supplying solar power to various discoms in Haryana. Apart from this, the state will also install solar power projects over canals.
Roof-top grid interactive SPV systems: Under the policy, the state will take steps to promote the installation of small-capacity, roof-top, grid-connected solar power plants on the roofs of factories, public and private institutes, schools, colleges, commercial institutions/establishments, buildings belonging to charitable trusts, hospitals and residences for their captive use and to sell surplus solar power to the utilities. Apart from a 30 per cent capital subsidy available to solar projects under MNRE schemes, the state discoms will also procure solar power generated at a fixed feed-in tariff. Haryana has recently made it mandatory to install roof-top solar power plants in all the buildings in the state.
Incentives
There will be an exemption from land use charges, external development charges, scrutiny fee and infrastructure development charges for all projects set up under this new state policy. Also, the power purchase agreement (PPA) to be signed between the Independent Power Producer (IPP) and the concerned power utilities or licensee will be valid for at least 25 years, after which, the PPA will be subject to renegotiation between the power producer and the concerned power utilities or licensee. However, a power utility will have the first right of refusal in case it is not willing to buy the power for a period beyond 25 years.
For more information
Please visit: www.hareda.gov.in
