Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has finalised a plan to invite bids for 50 GW of renewable energy capacity annually over the next five years.
The annual bids of ISTS (Inter-State Transmission) connected renewable energy capacity, from financial year 2023-24 to financial year 2027-28, will also include setting up of wind power capacity of at least 10 GW per annum.
The MNRE on Wednesday (5 March) said that this plan is in line with Prime Minister Modi’s announcement at COP26 to achieve 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
India currently has a total renewable energy capacity of 168.96 GW, with 82 GW at various implementation stages and 41 GW under the tendering stage.
The current renewable energy generation capacity in the country includes 64.38 GW from solar power, 51.79 GW from hydropower, 42.02 GW from wind power and 10.77 GW from bio power.
The new plan will add 250 GW of renewable energy and ensure the target of 500 GW installed capacity by 2030.
The Ministry of Power is already upgrading and adding transmission system capacity to evacuate 500 GW of electricity from non-fossil fuel.
The plan was finalised last week during a meeting chaired by Union Minister for Power and NRE R K Singh.
“Considering the fact that Renewable Energy (RE) projects take around 18-24 months for commissioning, the bid plan will add 250 GW of renewable energy and ensure 500 GW of installed capacity by 2030,” the ministry said in a statement.
Speaking at the meeting, Singh said that the declaration of trajectory of short-term and long-term RE capacity addition by the government is a significant step towards achieving the goal of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and towards a faster energy transition.
“India has emerged as one of the world leaders in energy transition and this is evident in the growth that we have achieved in the area of renewable energy,” the minister said.
“We are committed to achieve 500 GW of Target by 2030 and the bidding trajectory will provide a further stimulus towards this. The structured bidding trajectory will provide sufficient time to the RE developers to plan their finances, develop their business plans and manage the supply chain more efficiently This is a golden opportunity of industry to invest in this sector,” Singh said.
MNRE secretary B S Bhalla said that the bidding trajectory will also enable the power procurers, including the distribution companies, to manage their RE procurement plans effectively.
“The bid trajectory will also provide a fillip to the RE manufacturing industry in the country by indicating the demand that would be created for their equipment,” the MNRE secretary added.
Further, the ministry has declared a quarterly plan of the bids for FY2023-24, which comprises of bids for at least 15 GW of renewable energy capacity in each of the first and second quarters of the financial year (April-June 2023 and July-September 2023 respectively), and at least 10 GW in each of the third and fourth quarters of the financial year (Oct-December 2023 and January-March 2024 respectively).
The capacity addition is over and above the RE capacities that would come up under the ministry’s schemes like rooftop solar and PM-KUSUM, under which, bids issued directly by various states and also capacities that may come up under Open Access Rules.
Currently, Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI), NTPC Ltd and NHPC Ltd are notified by the government as Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies (REIAs) for calling such bids.
Now, the government has decided to also notify SJVN Ltd, a public sector enterprise, as an REIA.
According to the ministry, the REIAs would be permitted to bring out the bids for solar, wind, solar-wind hybrid, RTC RE power, etc. – all with/without storage, as per their assessment of the RE market or as per directions of the government.