Indian government grants commissioning extension for solar projects on case-by-case basis

From pv magazine India

India’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has said solar or wind-solar hybrid projects for which bids were finalized before the announcement of the basic customs duty (BCD) on modules on March 9, 2021, would be granted commissioning extensions only on a case-by-case basis. 

The renewable energy implementing agencies, including Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI), NTPC and NHPC would examine developers’ requests for an extension on a case-by-case basis and grant extensions only if the developer has taken all possible measures to implement the project, such as land acquisition and orders for modules and balance-of-system supply, but couldn’t complete it for reasons beyond his control.

If the developer is yet to take steps to implement the project and is merely sitting on the award, such projects will not be granted an extension and will face cancellation.

Earlier, the MNRE had announced that solar and solar-wind hybrid projects for which bids were finalized before March 9, 2021, may be given time for completion up to March 31, 2024.

In its latest order, the MNRE has clarified that the completion extension for these projects is “not a general blanket extension”.