The Delhi government approved the draft of its ambitious Solar Policy 2022. It revises the installed capacity from 2,000 MW to 6,000 MW by 2025. This is a threefold increase in the same time period. The revision is a sign that the country is serious about solar energy.
New Delhi’s solar policy sets 6,000 MW of solar capacity as its target by 2025. This will increase Delhi’s share of solar energy from 9% to 25% in three years.
In its 2016 solar policy, the government set a target of 2,000 MW for solar power installations by 2025.
This policy will create a single-window portal that is managed by Delhi Solar Cell. It will provide information about the benefits of solar PV systems, guidelines and a timeline. The government will offer incentives like capital subsidies and generation-based incentives (GBI), to encourage consumers to use solar energy. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia stated that the policy will provide capital subsidies to residential and commercial customers in Delhi for the first time. It will also provide opportunity for peer-to-peer trading.
After receiving comments from stakeholders, the draft Delhi Solar Policy 2022 is now available in the public domain. It will then be submitted to the Cabinet for final approval.
The new solar policy will boost the efforts by the Delhi government to combat pollution and create 12,000 jobs. The deputy CM stated that Delhi will be a model city for other cities and states in India, as well as the world, in enabling sustainable clean energies transitions.
The draft policy provides GBI monthly for residential, group and resident welfare societies, as well as commercial and industrial customers, for five years starting with the date of solar power commissioning.
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).
For the first 200 MW of solar energy deployment, a GBI at Rs 1/kWh for industrial and commercial customers will be available.
Residential consumers will receive a subsidy to mount structures (raised structures with a minimum ground clearance of six feet or more) at Rs 2,000 per kW, up to Rs 10,000 per consumer. This amount will be adjusted for electricity bills according the policy.
Whether the panels are used for self-consumption, or to supply electricity to the grid, there will be no taxes and duties.
The policy encourages the use of new deployment models like Hybrid RESCO and Community Solar and Peer-to-Peer trading to increase RTS panel uptake. According to a Delhi government statement, a Hybrid RESCO model was first proposed in India by the Delhi Solar Policy 2022. It is available for all consumers. This model allows consumers to get the net metering benefits from solar without having to invest any capital upfront by entering into an agreement through their power company.
“Community Solar” will be implemented for the first time in the country. According to the statement, it will allow consumers without a roof that can install a solar system to become owners of a portion of a larger solar system. This system is set up by a Delhi developer on a parcel of land in Delhi.
A system for peer-to-peer trading of solar energy will also go into effect. This will allow solar energy system owners to instantly sell excess electricity via a P2P trading platform.
This policy encourages discoms, through innovative models like RE-RTC (Renewable Energy Round the Clock), to increase the amount of solar energy purchased from outside Delhi.
According to the statement, it combines several renewable energy sources (solar, wind and others) with appropriate-sized battery storage to provide 24-hour power according to Delhi’s demand curve.
