Relief to renewable energy: MNRE declares Coronavirus force majeure

In a relief to upcoming renewable energy projects worth about Rs 3.5 lakh crore, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on Friday announced that “delay on account of disruption of the supply chains due to spread of coronavirus in China or any other country” would be considered as a force majeure event. This means project developers will not have to pay any penalty for missing commissioning deadlines, if they can prove their consignments were delayed by global restrictions on freight movements stemming from the pandemic.

Force majeure refers to unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract.