Aims to transform the state into an integrated solar generation hub of the country

The Gujarat government, on Tuesday, announced its Solar Power Policy, 2009, ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit. The policy aims at tapping the vast potential for solar energy in the state and transforming it into an “integrated solar generation hub” of the country.

Under the policy, the first of its kind being introduced in Gujarat, the government promises a slew of incentives to prospective developers who may want to set up solar power projects in the state. However, the benefits of this policy will not be available to projects set up under the Union Ministry for Natural and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) incentive scheme for solar power generation.

Announcing the new Solar Power Policy, Minister of State for Energy, Saurabh Patel, said the developers will be allowed to sell for 25 years energy generated from their projects to licensee distributors in the state under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to be specified by the state utility, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL).

The government has fixed a tariff of Rs 13 per unit for the first 12 years for the sale of energy by those photovoltaic solar projects commissioned before December 31, 2010, and Rs 3 per unit for the remaining 13 years.

The tariff fixed for other projects commissioned before March 31, 2014 is Rs 12 per unit for the first 12 years, and Rs 3 per unit for the remaining 13 years.

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