Gujarat Waives DCR for Solar Projects Up to 5 MW, Allows Procurement Without Competitive Bidding
Gujarat has introduced a policy allowing Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (GUVNL) and Discoms to procure renewable power without competitive bidding from small-scale solar (up to 5 MW) and wind (under 10 MW) projects. It also makes domestic content requirement non mandatory.
November 07, 2024. By Mrinmoy Dey
Solar projects of capacity above 500 kW to 5000 kW (AC) having solar PV modules, and wind projects of capacity above 500 kW to less than 10,000 kW will be eligible under this scheme.
Solar PV modules and wind turbines shall be as approved under ALMM and RLMM respectively. CUF of the project shall be declared upfront in the PPA which shall in no case be less than 19 percent for the solar project and 38 percent for the Wind projects.
RE solar/wind projects who have already signed PPAs with any entity as on the date of application, solar projects under net metering arrangement and solar/wind projects not having new plant and machinery will not be eligible for this.
Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis via the Akshay Urja Setu portal, specifically under the ‘Distributed Renewable Energy Bilateral Purchase’ category.
As per the guideline, the RE power producers shall possess or acquire the land on sale or lease basis from private/Government for development of RE projects. In case of lease, the lease period shall cover entire term of the PPA. Further, developers have to lay dedicated evacuation/transmission line up to receiving sub-station of GETCO from solar/wind project.
“For any solar/wind projects (of same type i.e. solar/wind), single eligible RE power producer (including group companies, associates, SPV) can interconnect maximum up to 5 MW solar project/s and less than 10 MW wind project/s at single receiving end sub-station of GETCO,” noted the guideline.
It further clarified that solar projects can be installed on separate smaller land parcels of minimum 500 kW capacity subject to total aggregated project capacity shall not be more than above specified limit and same shall be aggregated through internal electrical lines while dedicated evacuation line from project shall be installed up to GETCO substation.
“Further, it is to clarify that not more than one solar/wind project shall be allowed to interconnect to the same substation of the same company or company having common director or the same promoter company to avoid splitting of project,” it added.
As per the guideline, grid connectivity will depend on project capacity, with interconnection voltages set at 11 kV for projects up to 4 MW and 66 kV for projects above 4 MW. Developers must construct dedicated transmission lines to the connection point and bear the maintenance costs.
For solar/wind project connected at 11 kV level, PPA will be signed by DISCOM and for project connected at 66 kV level, PPA will be signed by GUVNL. PPA shall be signed within 15 days from date of issuance of LoA. Respective DISCOM/GUVNL will enter into PPA with RE power producer for a period of 25 years.
RE power producer must submit Performance Guarantee towards Security Deposit for a value INR 10 Lakh x Rated Installed capacity of RE project (AC MW) to DISCOM/GUVNL before signing of PPA.
The tariff for the procurement of RE power has been decided by Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC). While solar projects up to 5 MW will get levelized tariff of INR 2.76/kWh, tariffs for wind projects are set at INR 3.17/kWh. This results in a slightly lower tariff for developers who opt for AD benefits to reduce taxable income. The AD component has been set at INR 0.28/kWh for solar projects and INR 0.33/kWh for wind projects.
To further provide impetus, Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) clause has been relaxed. RE power producer, however, will not receive any financial support towards the setting of the solar/wind power plant from the Energy and Petrochemicals Department, GEDA, GUVNL or Discoms. Further, RE power producer will not have any claim on carbon credit, CDM benefits, renewable purchase obligations from the RE generation by such projects.
please contact: contact@energetica-india.net.
Gaurav Dolwani
CEO
From Scrap to Sustainability: LICO Materials’ Circular Economy Approach
Gaurav Kumar
Head of Supply Chain and Manufacturing
Euler Motors Bridges Cost Gap Between EVs and ICE Vehicles with Localization
Shveta Arya
India Region Leader
Powering India’s Mobility Future: Cummins Showcases Advanced Power Solutions at Bharat Mobility
Samkit Shah
Co-Founder
Jitendra EV Leading Hybrid EV Revolution with Hydrix
Muthu Subramanian
MD & General Manager
From Charging to Swapping: How Yuma Energy is Changing EV Refueling