In Short : The Indian government has made significant modifications to the trajectory for renewable energy purchase obligations (RPOs) in the country. RPOs mandate that a certain percentage of total power consumption in a region should come from renewable sources. The government’s move to modify this trajectory is a significant step towards enhancing the adoption of renewable energy in India. By adjusting these obligations, the government aims to accelerate the country’s transition towards cleaner and sustainable energy sources, reducing its carbon footprint and promoting a greener future for the nation.
In Detail : The Indian government has modified the trajectory for renewable energy purchase obligations (RPO). The new segment called ‘distributed renewable energy (DRE)’ has been introduced, allowing renewable energy (RE) projects with a capacity of less than 10 MW to qualify for RPO for distribution companies and open-access consumers.
Small RE projects installed by consumers are set to get a boost as the government has revised RPO for distribution companies and open-access consumers and made it more stringent. While the overall RPO trajectory from FY25 to FY30 remains the same as last notified in 2022, the segment mix has changed.
RE projects under any arrangement, net metering, gross metering, virtual net metering, group net metering, behind-the-meter installations and any other configuration will qualify for RPO from the DRE segment.
According to the official notification, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Power Ministry will maintain data related to compliance with RE utilisation by the designated consumers and submit reports to the Centre.
Moreover, this time obligations have been issued under the Energy Conservation Act, therefore, non-compliance will attract penalties, and the state regulators may not have a role to play in them. Purchase obligation for new wind energy projects stands at 0.67 percent of the total energy used for FY25.
