Govt Issues Renewable Consumption Targets For Discoms, Others

CEA To Verify Captive Status Of Power Plants Every Year: Draft Rules

The Ministry of Power, in its latest notification, issued a trajectory of renewable energy consumption for discoms, open access and captive power consumers. The new norms make these obligated entities to phase out the usage of fossil fuels in a phased manner. 

The new mandate was issued as per Section 14 of the Energy Conservation Act, which empowers the Union government to enforce the efficient use of energy and its conservation. The new mandate specifies a minimum share of consumption of non-fossil sources (renewable energy) by the obligated consumers. 

The new trajectory has defined specific consumption targets of different formats of green energy like wind energy, hydro energy, distributed renewable energy, and other renewable energy. While the trajectory has asked the consumers to ensure 29.91 percent consumption of their total power from non-fossil fuel power by the end of 2024-25, the target has been increased to 43.33 percent.  

The norms said that any shortfall in achievement of stipulated wind renewable energy consumption in a particular year might be met with hydro renewable energy, which is in excess of that energy component for that year. The new norms also allow the entities to use Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to meet the shortfalls.

“The specified renewable energy consumption targets shall be met either directly or through Certificate in accordance with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Renewable Energy Certificates for Renewable Energy Generation) Regulations, 2022, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4, dated the 24th May 2022: Provided that any shortfall in specified renewable energy consumption targets shall be treated as non-compliance and penalty shall be imposed as such rate specified under sub-section (3) of section 26 of the said Act,” the norms said. 

The Renewable Consumption Targets, issues by the Ministry of Power

The new provisions of the ministry also talked about the usage of distributed renewable energy. “The distributed renewable energy component shall be met only from the energy generated from renewable energy projects that are less than 10 MW in size and shall include solar installations under all configurations (net metering, gross metering, virtual net metering, group net metering, behind the meter installations and any other configuration) notified by the Central Government,” it said.

It is on the condition that compliance against distributed renewable energy shall ordinarily be considered in terms of energy (Kilowatt hour units). The order said that in case the designated consumer is unable to provide generation data against distributed renewable energy installations, the reported capacity should be transformed into distributed renewable energy generation in terms of energy by a multiplier of 3.5 units per kilowatt per day (kWh/kW/day).