New Delhi: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on Friday held a stakeholder consultation workshop to deliberate on the draft Floating Solar PV (FSPV) Potential Assessment Report and the draft floating solar policy framework. According to an official statement, the workshop was organised under the chairmanship of JVN Subramanyam, Joint Secretary, MNRE.
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The draft potential assessment report was prepared by the National Institute of Solar Energy, while the draft policy framework was prepared by Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.
The ministry said the consultation aimed at addressing gaps in data and policy clarity that have slowed floating solar deployment in the country.
Highlighting the context for the initiative, MNRE noted that “considering the prevailing land constraints faced in Renewable Energy (RE) projects, FSPV has emerged as an alternate avenue.”
However, it added that “only around 700 MW of FSPV projects has been commissioned in India, so far,” attributing this largely to a “lack of data on the potential sites and clear framework for project execution.”
“In order to overcome this bottleneck, MNRE in association with NISE and IITR has prepared these documents,” the statement said.
The ministry requested all states and Union Territories “to have internal consultations with all stakeholders at state level like Water Resources/Irrigation, Revenue, Fisheries, Forest, Agriculture, DISCOMs/Transcom, PWD, Tourism, Pollution Control etc., and provide their comments and feedbacks on draft policy and potential.”
The discussions during the workshop focused on “providing innovative solutions like plug and pay models, allotment of water bodies with all necessary approvals etc. for the derisking the developers and investors.”
Based on the draft potential assessment and policy framework, MNRE said States/UTs “may also identify and prioritize sites for the development of FSPV projects.”
MNRE stated that it “will also have detailed consultations with MoEFCC, Wetland Authority, National Dam Safety Authority etc. on the floating solar policy, based on the feedback received from the states.”
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The workshop was attended by senior officials of MNRE, renewable energy state nodal agencies, representatives from States and Union Territories, Solar Energy Corporation of India, NISE and IIT Roorkee.