House panel calls for single-window system, template for power purchase pacts

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha’s Estimates Committee has recommended that the renewable energy ministry come up with a single-window system and develop standardized power purchase agreement (PPA) templates while setting definite timelines for various approvals to expedite the signing of such pacts.

The committee, in its initial report on solar parks in December last year, had highlighted delays in finalizing PPAs between solar power park developers and states or power distribution companies (discoms) as one of the significant challenges in achieving the target of 40GW of installed capacity in these parks by 2023-24. It had attributed the delay in the signing of the power purchase pacts to factors such as lack of clear directions from the ministry, a prolonged internal approval process and involvement of multiple ministries after finalization of tenders.

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The panel, in its latest report tabled in Lok Sabha, has said that the Union ministry of new and renewable energy told the committee that PPAs are bilateral agreements signed between solar project developers and discoms, and the ministry or any other central government ministries have no direct involvement in their execution.

The Estimates Committee, consisting of 30 members of the Lok Sabha, scrutinizes the government’s budget estimates and expenditures. No minister can be a member of this panel.

The renewable energy ministry has also pointed out that the Union ministry of power has already issued standard bidding guidelines under section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003, which provide an indicative timeline for the bidding process.

“The committee are not satisfied with the reply of the ministry, as it does not address the committee’s recommendations for simplifying the process and reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks,” the panel, headed by Bharataiya Janata Party Lok Sabha member Sanjay Jaiswal, said in its report tabled on Wednesday.

“The committee, therefore, reiterate their earlier recommendation for establishment of a single-window system and develop standardized PPA templates to set definite timelines for the approval process at each level within the ministry. The committee expect the ministry to take immediate action in implementing these recommendations and apprise them on the progress made,” it said.

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Signing of PPAs has slowed recently. In September, Mint reported that solar power projects of about 30GW are yet to take off due to delays in the signing of PPAs and power supply agreements.

The renewable energy ministry, headed by Pralhad Joshi, told the committee noted that out of the seven solar parks being developed by public sector enterprises, only one solar park of 100MW has been commissioned by Solar Energy Corporation of India (Seci) in Chhattisgarh, while the remaining six solar parks are under implementation, and the progress is being monitored regularly and the issues related to them are addressed from time to time.

The committee, in its initial report, had also noted that several solar projects were experiencing delays in finalization and implementation of power evacuation systems and transmission infrastructure, as they are located in forest areas. Barethi Solar Park (630MW) and Chhatarpur Solar Park (950 MW), situated within Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, are among such projects, it had said.

The ministry of new and renewable energy in its response to the panel said it had earlier cancelled some parks, as the land identified for development of the solar parks fell under forest land. The Chhatarpur Solar Park also fell under this category, which led to its cancellation.

Further, the ministry also took up similar issues (Kaza and Kinnaur Solar Parks in Himachal Pradesh) with the Union ministry of environment forest and climate change to provide relaxations, which subsequently did not materialize, leading to cancellation of the solar parks.

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“Accordingly, the ministry in subsequent proposals under the solar park scheme requests the concerned agencies to ensure that the land is free from all encumbrances or any constraints, including forest clearance, which may impede the development. Only after the same is ensured, proposals were considered for sanctioning of capacity under the solar park scheme,” the ministry told the committee.

Solar power is a major component of India’s ambitious target of 500GW non-fossil power generation capacity by 2030.

According to the Central Electricity Authority, total renewable energy-based electricity generation capacity stood at 203.18GW as of October, with an addition of 24.2GW in the past one year.