The Delhi government on Thursday approved the draft of its ambitious Solar Policy 2022 which revises the installed capacity to 6,000 MW from 2,000 MW by 2025, a three-fold jump in as many years.
Delhi’s new solar policy targets 6,000 MW of installed solar capacity by 2025 to increase the share of solar energy in Delhi’s annual electricity demand from 9 per cent to 25 per cent in three years, the highest in India, said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
The government had targeted an installed capacity of 2,000 MW solar power by 2025 in its 2016 solar policy. The policy aims to create a unified single-window state portal managed by the Delhi Solar Cell that will provide information on the benefits of solar PV systems, process-related guidelines, and timeline.
“To motivate consumers to use solar energy, the government will provide various incentives such as generation-based incentives (GBI) and capital subsidies. For the first time in the country, consumers will have an opportunity for Community Solar and Peer-to-Peer trading,” Sisodia said
The policy will provide capital subsidies for residential as well as commercial consumers in Delhi, he said.
The draft Delhi Solar Policy 2022 will now be in the public domain for 30 days for comments from stakeholders, after which it will be tabled in the Cabinet for final approval.
“The new solar policy will further boost the efforts of the Delhi government to fight pollution while generating 12,000 new jobs. It will make Delhi a model for states and cities not just in India but also across the world in enabling sustainable clean energy transition,” the deputy CM said.
The draft policy provides for monthly GBI for residential, group housing societies and resident welfare associations, and commercial and industrial consumers for five years from the date of commissioning of the solar power .
The GBI will be Rs 3/kWh for residential solar systems up to 3 kW, Rs 2/kWh for residential solar systems above 3 kW and up to 10kW, Rs 2/kWh for CGHS and RWAs with solar systems up to 500kW (at 10kW per house).
An early-bird GBI of Rs 1/kWh will be offered for the first time for commercial and industrial consumers for the first 200 MW of solar deployment.
For residential consumers, a capital subsidy for mounting structures (raised structures that have a minimum ground clearance greater than six feet) will be provided at the rate of Rs 2,000 per kW up to a maximum of Rs 10,000 per consumer and adjusted against electricity bills, as per the policy.
Taxes and duties will not be levied on generation from RTS (roof top solar) panels whether for self-consumption or supplied to the grid.
To increase the uptake of RTS panels, the policy also encourages new deployment models such as Hybrid RESCO, Community Solar and Peer-to-Peer trading. A Hybrid RESCO model is envisioned for the first time in India through the draft Delhi Solar Policy 2022 for all consumers, a Delhi government statement said.
This model enables consumers to access the net metering benefits of solar without making any upfront capital investment by entering into an agreement with their power discom.
For the first time in the country, ‘Community Solar’ will be set in place. It will enable consumers who do not have a suitable roof for installing a solar system to be owners of a part of a larger solar energy system set up by a developer within an available land parcel in Delhi, the statement said.
‘Peer-to-Peer Trading’ of solar energy will also be set in place. It will enable owners of solar energy systems to sell their excess generated electricity in real-time via a P2P energy trading platform.
The policy also encourages discoms to increase the share of solar energy procured from outside Delhi through innovative models such as RE-RTC (Renewable Energy-Round the Clock).
It combines a host of renewable energy sources (solar, wind and others) alone with appropriately sized battery storage to provide round-the-clock power as per the demand curve of Delhi, the statement said.
