A significant renewable energy proposal has come before the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC), as Cosmicwave Technology & Research Pvt. Ltd. (CTRPL) has sought approval for a direct power procurement arrangement with Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). The company has filed a petition under Section 62 of the Electricity Act, 2003, requesting permission to bypass the conventional competitive bidding process and allow UPPCL to enter into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for a proposed 5 MW Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) pilot project in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh.
According to the petition, the proposed project represents a different approach from the widely used Solar Photovoltaic (PV) technology. While PV systems generate electricity directly from sunlight through solar panels and are dependent on sunshine availability, the CSP plant will use mirrors and heliostats to concentrate solar radiation onto a central receiver. The concentrated heat will be used to raise the temperature of molten salt, which in turn produces steam to operate a turbine and generate electricity.
One of the key features of the project is its Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system. The stored heat in molten salts can be used to generate electricity even after sunset, enabling the plant to provide stable and dispatchable power. CTRPL stated that the proposed facility is designed to supply electricity for up to eight hours daily during peak demand periods, helping improve grid reliability and support clean energy integration.
The company informed the Commission that current regulatory provisions pose challenges for emerging technologies such as CSP. Existing norms limit tariffs for pilot projects to either a mutually agreed rate or the weighted Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) of the previous financial year, whichever is lower. CTRPL argued that CSP technology is still at an early stage of commercialization and involves significantly higher capital costs. The company estimated the project cost at around ₹5 crore per MW, compared to approximately ₹2 crore per MW for conventional solar PV projects.
CTRPL further explained that critical equipment such as heliostats, molten salt receivers, and zinc-bromine flow batteries currently need to be imported from countries including Germany, the UAE, and the United States, increasing overall project costs. As a result, the company stated that implementing APPC-based tariffs would make the project financially unviable.
The petitioner also informed UPERC that it had reached an in-principle agreement with UPPCL for a fixed levelized tariff of ₹4.73 per unit for a period of 25 years without any escalation. According to the company, this tariff is lower than Uttar Pradesh’s current APPC for non-renewable power sources, which stands at ₹5.10 per unit.
During the proceedings, CTRPL confirmed that it had approached the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) but found no subsidy or grant support available for this type of CSP project. Considering the project’s potential contribution toward meeting the state’s Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) targets, UPERC has directed the company to submit an affidavit confirming the tariff details. The Commission has reserved its final order on the matter.
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