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Maharashtra is set to finalise a new composite policy on renewable energy, as per which it has set a target of achieving 16,400 MW of installed capacity within five years and attract an investment of Rs 75,000 crore.
According to sources, the new policy, which may soon be tabled before the state Cabinet, will be focussed on easing business processes and number of clearances for pushing renewable energy power projects.
But with the Covid-19 pandemic worsening Maharashtra’s financial condition, sources said the state is unlikely to announce fresh fiscal incentives to push solar and wind energy projects like it had in the past.
The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) had earlier issued a policy announcing its renewable purchase obligation (RPO) from 2020 to 2025. According to it, the share of renewable energy – around 10 per cent at present – is targetted to go up to 25 per cent by 2025.
Sticking to the MERC’s RPO, the state government is targeting to go up to 16 per cent by 2022 itself. The policy aims at achieving an installed capacity of 12,000 MW solar energy alone. The current installed capacity of renewable energy is 9,000 MW.
To achieve the set target, the new policy draft has set fixed annual targets for each category of renewable powers.
The government will also come out with a transition policy for ongoing projects approved under the previous five-year policy sanctioned in 2015.
The previous government had announced fiscal incentives, including electricity duty concessions, for a 10-year period for green power plants. For a smooth transition to the new policy, the government plans to allow ongoing projects to continue availing the benefits if they completed their projects in a time-bound manner, sources said.