Solar Magazine India

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Solar Magazine India
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(All that you want to know about the solar
sector, from the leading magazine in India.)
Karnataka has witnessed an unprecedented growth
in renewable energy installations over the past
few years, fueled by the state governments
initiatives for providing 247 power to all and
improving energy security in the long run.
Karnataka has immense renewable energy potential
and the state government is leaving no stone
unturned in ensuring maximum utilization of these
resources. According to Karnataka Renewable
Energy Development Limited (KREDL), around
9,029.89 MW of renewable energy capacity in the
state has been commissioned as of January 2018,
accounting for 41.74 per cent of its total
installed power capacity. (For more updates on
the solar sector, read the leading magazine in
India).
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The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission
(KERC) has recently released draft regulations to
increase the solar renewable purchase obligation
(RPO) for discoms, as per the Fifth Amendment to
the KERC (Procurement of Energy from Renewable
Sources) Regulations, 2017. These regulations
propose an increase in the solar RPO from 1.25
per cent to 3.5 per cent for 2017-18 and from
1.75 per cent to 6.75 per cent for 2018-19. Even
with solar costs declining, this would mean an
increase in tariff for consumers, as all the
discoms have sought tariff hikes ranging from 82
paise to 162 paise per unit, in their tariff
petitions for the year 2018-19. The regulations
proposed no change in the non-solar RPO.
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Karnatakas Draft Karnataka Renewable Energy
Policy 2014-20, covering all renewable energy
sources accept solar, targets a minimum renewable
energy capacity addition of 4,000 MW during the
period. It also aims to attract private sector
investments on a larger scale. The policy
encourages the repowering of old wind power
plants and the hybridization of solar and wind.
In addition, it has also proposed to set up a
centralized monitoring cell for better
coordination and improved planning of renewable
energy projects. Under the policy, a green energy
fund called the Akshaya Shakthi Nidhi will be set
up to facilitate renewable energy financing and
energy conservation in the state by levying a
green energy cess on electricity supplied to
industrial and commercial establishments. As per
the policy, the wheeling, banking, reactive and
transmission charges will be applicable as
determined by KERC from time to time.
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Karnataka is also one of the first few states in
India to introduce a specific policy for electric
vehicles. The Karnataka Electric Vehicle and
Energy Storage Policy, 2017 directs discoms to
permit the use of renewable energy at low
connection costs and zero wheeling charges for
powering electric vehicle charging stations. This
is expected to further drive renewable energy
uptake in the state.
It has come a long way since then with
considerable capacity additions, owing to the
state governments commitment to meet the
aggressive renewable energy targets, and ensure
energy security for all consumers. While the
state is aggressively expanding its solar power
capacity, the other resources need greater
attention. The draft renewable energy policy of
2014 has still not been approved, and discoms are
shying away from signing new wind PPAs. The state
is yet to adopt the competitive bidding process
for project allocation in the wind power segment.
(Read more about solar sector from the leading
magazine in India.) Read it https//renewablewat
ch.in/2018/02/27/solar-tilt/