In March 2016, the Government of Haryana revised its state solar power policy which was launched two years back. The new solar policy is a six-year policy spanning 2016 to 2022. Under the new policy the target is to add 3200 MW of solar power by 2022. This target is in line with central government target to add 100 GW of solar power by 2022 for which the state renewable purchase obligation (RPO) requirements are also increased from 3% to 8% now. As per Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Haryana has an overall solar potential of 5 GWp (refer).
As of March 2016, only 12 MW capacity was commissioned in Haryana, and another 200 MW is allotted under its state policy. A comparative analysis with Solar Policy of 2014 is below:
| Parameters | Solar Policy 2014 | Solar Policy 2016 |
| Operative period | 2014-2017 | 2016-2022 |
| Target | · 1,300 MW by 2022 (RPO target of 3%)
· 50 MW of rooftop target · Off grid solar capacity of 35 MW | · 3,200 MW by 2022 (RPO target of 8%) including 1,600 MW of rooftop capacity |
| Incentives and exemptions | · Exemption from land use charges, external development charges, scrutiny fee and infrastructure development charges. | · A price preference of 2% given to the solar plants of 1-2 MW capacity
· Exemption from land use approval, external development charges, scrutiny fee and infrastructure development charges · Exemption from environment clearance, clearance from Forest Department · Single window clearance for rooftop projects. |
| Initiatives planned | · The State govt. to create a separate fund known as Green Energy Fund for accelerated development of solar power projects in the state
· Govt. to promote 50,000 Sqm of collector area of SWHS by providing financial incentive @40% of the cost of system (including 30% assistance provided by MNRE, and additional 10% from green energy fund) · For small rooftop systems of 5-100 kW, additional 10% subsidy from green energy fund to be given apart from MNRE 30% assistance | · Mandated installation of solar power plant of 3% to 5% of connected load for residential buildings above 500 Square Yards size, all private and government institutions having connected load of 30 kW and industrial establishments above 50 kW load
· The rooftop space available in the Government institutions can be provided on lease/rent for setting solar projects · Development of solar parks through Saur Urja Nigam Haryana Ltd. (SUN Haryana). |
On comparing both the policies, it is seen that while in previous 2014 policy, the concept of setting up green fund for promoting small scale solar projects was given however in the new policy nothing is been said about that. Further, the rooftop target is increased multi-fold from 50 MW to 1600 MW under the new policy. There are some notable new incentives and initiatives that are introduced in the new 2016 policy:
- Focus on rooftop solar sector with revised target of 1600 MW and mandatory installation clauses in place now for buildings above 500 sq yards.
- For rooftop projects, all the statutory clearances and approvals shall be provided to the IPP through a single window facility, in a time bound manner within a period of 60 days after the submission of complete application along with necessary enclosures, fees/charges including LOI.
- Net metering also made viable with additional pay-out of 25 paise/ unit for excess units exported to grid by solar plant owner
