Uttarakhand Rooftop Solar Energy Policy for CPSU

Considering the importance of Solar Energy & its relevance, Uttarakhand Government released Uttarakhand Solar Policy 2013, on June 27, 2013 (download). An amendment to the above Solar Policy was released on October 1, 2015 (download). Below are the main highlights of the Policy with due consideration for changes because of amendment.

• Nodal agency responsible for implementation of Solar Policy shall be Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Authority (UREDA)
• Minimum Capacity allocation per developer is 100 KW and maximum is 50 MW. However, these restrictions do not apply if developer is Central or State Government Corporation.
• The policy divides Solar Projects in state into 4 types:

Further UREDA has grouped the projects belonging to these 4 types into 4 different groups.

• Grid Connected Solar Power Plant
• Off Grid Solar Power Plant
• Roof Top Solar Power Plant
• Canal Top Solar Power Plant

Now we shall explore the possibilities related to Policy & Regulations related to Rooftop Solar Power Plants in details. Please note, the below details are valid only for CPSU’s in Uttarakhand.

Route A: Under Type I

• Here, ONGC shall setup the Solar Power Plant and bid for Tariff of purchase by discom under obligation for purchase of electricity generated through renewable sources. The obligation was 3% of total power distributed by discom, which was raised to 8% in 2015. Reference: NEWS

Route B: Under Type II

• Here also ONGC will setup & develop Solar Power Plant but discom will purchase Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) route.

Purchase of electricity by UPCL through above routes in 2015:

Route C: Under Type IV

Rooftop Solar Power Plants in Uttarakhand can be developed through Type IV of Solar Energy Policy 2013 through JNNSM, mission of MNRE. Since ONGC is a CPSU so applicable scheme shall be JNNSM CPSU (Visit Site). In this scheme, Central Government has planned to setup 1000 MW of grid-connected solar power plants:

• Download complete Scheme document.
• Under this arrangement, CPSU can sign Power Purchase/Sale Agreements with applicable state Discoms.
• The central government also invited interested CPSU’s for first batch installation of 500MW. EOI by GOI.

Route D: Under Type IV

While, the above scheme is valid for only CPSU, as per UPCL notification, recent amendment in JNNSM Policy has allowed any consumer to setup Solar Rooftop Power Plants upto 500 KW and sell excess energy to grid. Here any consumer of UPCL can setup the plant and sell electricity but capacity has been limited to 500 KW. Further in this case, Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission (UERC) decides the purchase tariff on yearly basis.

• Scheme Document & Application form: Download