Lok Sabha Question No. 1882 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-09
Subject: Energy Conservation Act
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Sarmistha Sethi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1882 ANSWERED ON 09.12.2021

## ENERGY CONSERVATION ACT

1882.  SHRIMATI SARMISTHA SETHI:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

(a) whether there is any proposal to amend the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 to specify minimum quantum of renewable energy in the overall energy conservation;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the steps taken by the Government to promote and encourage production and use of renewable sources of energy in the country?

## A N S W E R

THE MINISTER OF POWER AND NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY

(SHRI  R.K. SINGH)

(a) & (b) : Yes, Sir. The proposed amendments to the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 inter-alia seek to prescribe minimum share of consumption of non-fossil energy sources by designated consumers as energy or feedstock. This well help in reduction of fossil fuel-based  energy  consumption in  selected  industries  as  well  as  reduction  in  carbon emissions to the atmosphere.

(c) : The steps taken by the Government to promote and encourage production and use of renewable sources of energy in the country are given below:-

- Permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route.
- Waiver  of  Inter  State  Transmission  System  (ISTS)  charges  for  inter-state  sale  of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30 th  June 2025.
- Waiver  of  transmission  charges  allowed  for  trading  of  electricity  generated/ supplied from solar, wind, Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) and Battery Energy storage System (BESS) in GTAM and Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM) for two years i.e.till 30-06-2023.
- Laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity under the Green Energy Corridor Scheme for evacuation of renewable power.
- Declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2022.

........2.

- Declaration of trajectory for Hydro Purchase Obligation (HPO) upto the Year 202930.
- Setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land  and transmission to   RE developers on a plug and play basis.
- Schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc.
- Notification of standards for deployment of solar photovoltaic system/devices.
- Setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments.
- Standard  Bidding  Guidelines  for  tariff  based  competitive  bidding  process  for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects.
- Government  has  issued  orders  that  power  shall  be  dispatched  against  Letter  of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators.
- Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) launched to facilitate procurement of RE power through power exchange in the country.
- Conducting skill development programmes to create a pool of skilled manpower for setting up, operation and maintenance of RE projects.
- Must Run Status: CERC has given treatment of must run to solar and wind power in Indian  Electricity  Grid  Code  (IEGC)  in  Central  Electricity  Regulatory  Commission (Indian  Electricity  Grid  Code)  Regulations,  2010,  which  is  further  enriched  and enlarged in subsequent amendment in mentioned regulation.

Further,  Ministry  of  Power  (MoP)  has  notified  'Electricity  (Promotion  of Generation  of  Electricity  from  Must-Run  Power  Plant)  Rules,  2021'  and  according  to which  wind,  solar,  wind-solar  hybrid  or  hydro  power  plant  (in  case  of  excess  water leading to spillage) or a power plant from any other sources, as may be notified by the Appropriate Government, which has entered into an agreement to sell the electricity to any person, shall be treated as a must-run power plant.

- Development  of  Renewable  Energy  Management  Center  (REMC)  -  For  smooth operation of the Grid with integration of high RE sources, 12 nos. of REMCs have been commissioned and one REMC is under implementation. The operators have started using these REMCs for forecasting and scheduling of RE generation to the best possible extent.
- Development  of  Green  Energy  Corridor  -  The  Green  Energy  Corridors  aim  to evacuate electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, and integrate them into the grid.
- Flexibility  in  Generation  and  Scheduling  of  Thermal/Hydro  Power  Stations through bundling with Renewable Energy and Storage Power - Ministry of Power (MoP) vide notification dated 15 th  November, 2021 has notified revised Scheme for  Flexibility  in  Generation  and  Scheduling  of  Thermal/Hydro  Power  Stations through bundling with Renewable Energy and Storage Power.

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- Waiver of Inter-State Transmission Charges on Transmission of the Electricity generated  from  Solar  and  Wind  Sources  of  Energy  -  For  encouraging  RE capacity addition including solar, MoP  has  issued  revised  orders (dated 23.11.2021 and 30.11.2021) for Waiver of Inter-State Transmission Charges on Transmission  of  the  Electricity  generated  from  Solar  and  Wind  Sources  of Energy.
- Exemption  from  Unscheduled  Injection/Deviation  charges-  Central  Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has given relaxation to Deviation Charges for RE Plants in  Central  Electricity  Regulatory  Commission  (Deviation  Settlement Mechanism and related matters) Regulations, 2019 and its amendments.
- Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM) - GDAM launched in October, 2021 facilitates a marketplace for trading of RE Power on a day-ahead basis for accomplishment of green  targets  as  well  as  support  integration  of  Green  energy  including  solar energy in an efficient, competitive and transparent manner.
- Development of Storage infrastructure-  Government of India  has taken various steps and formed committees for development of storage capacity in India that will help large scale RE Integration in to the system. In this regard, Ministry of Heavy  Industries  (MHI)  has  brought  out  a  Production  Linked  Incentive  (PLI) Scheme  viz:  'National  Programme  on  Advanced  Chemistry  Cell  (ACC)  Battery Storage' for achieving manufacturing capacity of fifty (50) Giga Watt Hour (GWh) of ACC and 5 GWh of "Niche" ACC with an outlay of Rs.18,100 crore.
- Enabling the mechanism of Renewable Energy Certificate and their transaction on Energy ExchangeIt is aimed at addressing the  mismatch between availability of RE resources in State and the requirement of the obligated entities to meet the renewable purchase obligation (RPO).
- Policy  Support  and  Financial  Assistance  to  RE  Projects  -  Government  is extending  various  policy  support  and  financial  assistance  (Capital  Subsidy, viability Gap Funding - VGF) through various schemes for establishment of Solar park, Roof-top solar, solar pump, Wind Power, Biomass Energy, Waste to Energy, etc.
- Domestic Manufacturing of Solar panels: Keeping in view the target of huge RE power  integration  in  the  grid,  Government  has  launched  Production  Linked Incentive  (PLI)  scheme  for  manufacturing  capacity  of  Solar  Panels  in  the country.
- Hydrogen  Economy  and  Infrastructure:  Government  of  India  has  launched National  Hydrogen  Mission  for  early  development  of  Hydrogen  (H2)  Economy Infrastructure in the Country with focus on Green Hydrogen.

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