Monday, December 10, 2012: The draft policy for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission’s (JNNSM) second phase has been made public by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) whereby the country aims to have 10 GW of cumulative grid-connected and 1 GW of cumulative off-grid capacity by 2017.
JNNSM targets addition of 20 GW of grid connected and 2 GW of off-grid solar systems by 2022 in three phases. The viability gap funding (VGF), where financial support is provided to make projects commercially viable, has been identified as the main means of backing projects to be installed under central schemes. It would see bidders vie for VGF requirement per MW capital cost. The bidders with the lowest VGF requirement would be selected, according to the proposals for the second phase.
A number of measures have been suggested in the draft document including providing fiscal and financial incentives to solar projects, strengthening enforcement of the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) mechanism and developing state specific solar programmes.
Electronics Bazaar, South Asia’s No.1 Electronics B2B magazine
