Rajasthan Renewable Energy Policy 2023, issued by the Energy Department, Government of Rajasthan

“Rajasthan notifies a new consolidated renewable policy, i.e. Rajasthan Renewable Energy Policy 2023, in supersession of the erstwhile separate renewable policies, such as Rajasthan Solar Energy Policy 2019 and Rajasthan Wind and Hybrid Energy Policy 2019.”

On October 6, 2023, the Government of Rajasthan issued the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Policy 2023 (Rajasthan RE Policy 2023) governing all RE projects in the state of Rajasthan. The Rajasthan RE Policy 2023 has been issued in supersession of separate erstwhile policies, namely, Rajasthan Solar Energy Policy 2019 and Rajasthan Wind and Hybrid Energy Policy 2019 (collectively, Previous Policies). The Rajasthan RE Policy 2023 is a significant stride towards sustainable energy practices and provides comprehensive legal updates to stimulate the growth of renewable energy in Rajasthan, aligning with broader sustainability goals and emerging energy needs. It aims to achieve 65 GW of solar capacity and 15 GW of wind-solar hybrid capacity by the year 2030.

Some notable features of the Rajasthan RE Policy 2023 are:

· It sets a target of 90,000 MW of renewable capacity by 2029-30 which includes: (i) 65,000 MW of solar plants; (ii) 15,000 MW of wind and hybrid plants; and (iii) 10,000 MW of hydro plants. This has marked a substantial increase from the earlier clean energy target of 30,000 MW solar power projects and 3,500 MW hybrid power projects.

· It encourages the creation of renewable energy parks through public-private partnerships, with the government investing up to 50% equity. The registration charges are set at INR 10,000 / MW plus GST, capped at INR 20,00,000 plus GST for each solar park.

· Hybrid projects have been classified into type A and type B, the conversion of existing or under-construction wind or solar plants into hybrid projects has been allowed. Rajasthan RE Policy 2023 recognizes a wind-solar power plant as hybrid if the rated power capacity of one resource is at least 25% of the rated power capacity of the other resource, deviating from the national standard of 30%.

· Government land will be allotted to solar, RE parks, and solar, wind, hybrid/hydropower projects including storage plants as per the provisions of Rajasthan Land Revenue (Allotment of Land for Setting Up of Power Plant based on Renewable Energy Sources) Rules, 2007.

· The Rajasthan Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited will prepare a plan for renewable evacuation infrastructure development, including provisions for grid connectivity and infrastructure development.

· As per the Rajasthan RE Policy 2023, in-principal clearance or approval will be granted by the state-level sanction committee based on the project scenario, in comparison to in-principle clearance and final approval by the state-level Level Screening Committee and the State Level Empowered Committee under the previous policies.

· The charges under the Rajasthan RE Policy 2023 amount to INR 50,000 per hectare per year for projects commissioned on or after its commencement. The developers have the option to pay renewable energy development and facilitation charges or supply 7% of the power generated to Rajasthan DISCOMs free of charge by installing additional capacity. In contrast, the previous policies had development charges ranging from INR 2,00,000 to 5,00,000 per MW per year, depending on the commissioning date.

· It aims to develop 10 GW capacity from hydro, pumped storage, and battery energy storage systems, encouraging RE power projects with storage systems for captive use/ third-party sale.

· It aims the development of EV charging infrastructure by guidelines and standards issued by the Ministry of Power and Central Electricity Authority. EV charging stations may be established by state / central public sector undertakings, private operators, or under public-private partnership models.

· The state will promote the setup of decentralized solar power projects with a minimum capacity of 0.5 MW and a maximum capacity of 5 MW in the premises and vicinity of 33 kV grid sub-stations for the sale of power to DISCOMs.