Odisha and Rajasthan express inability to meet renewable energy targets
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According to a Hindu BusinessLine report, Rajasthan needed more flexibility in the order of choosing which form of renewable energy to procure, while Odisha needed more time to comply with the requirements.
Odisha and Rajasthan have expressed their inability to comply with the Centre’s Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).
For now, the Centre has provided some leeway to choosing one how to meet the energy targets, be it solar energy, or wind and biomass energy. If there is a dearth in the availability of solar energy, meeting 85 percent of the solar energy target will suffice.
On June 14, the Centre mandated that 21 percent of the power will have to be procured from a renewable source of energy by 2021-22
However, Rajasthan wishes to have complete flexibility to ‘add minimum or no financial burden on consumers’.
“If RPO entails purchase of additional renewable power and the State is already power surplus, additional renewable power procurement needs to be done after careful consideration and weighing the pros and cons thereof,” the written representation from Rajasthan read.
On June 14, the Centre mandated that 21 percent of the power will have to be procured from a renewable source of energy by 2021-22. The earlier mandate was 17 percent for 2018-19.
This would mean that states would be obliged to meet 10.50 percent of their power requirements through solar power by 2021-22, higher than the 6.75 percent mandated for 2018-19.
Odisha said that the power generating capability of each state lies in the hands of the State regulator as well the potential for renewable energy, and the paying capacity of the distribution companies. So the central government should ideally have a minimal role.
“Odisha has a specific issue. The state has tied-up with several thermal power plants under the State Thermal Policy due to which around 29 Power Purchase Agreements have been executed with Independent Power Producers in addition to the large quantum of capacities contracted from NTPC’s upcoming stations,” the Odisha government’s communique read.
It added that Odisha would not be able to comply with the RPO in the event of a power-surplus situation.
The RPOs specified for solar and non-solar power are supposed to be adhered to uniformly by all states and union territories.
Prasanta Patnaik