Kick-start of Phase II of Solar Guidelines in partnership with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)

A day-long conclave was organised by Solar Energy Corporation of India in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) India on 9th July, 2014 at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The event, attended by senior government officials and experts, showcased the Solar Guidelines, Phase II, which is a first-of-its-kind, highly beneficial tool providing a clear pathway to development of solar power projects and enabling ease of navigation through the legal-administrative-regulatory frameworks from concept to commissioning. It is envisaged that this initiative will attract investments in the Indian solar market. It is a successful flagship activity of the Commercialisation of Solar Energy in urban and industrial areas (ComSolar) project of GIZ, a German government owned not-for-profit enterprise supporting sustainable development.

The event was graced by Shri Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary, MNRE, Shri Rajendra Nimje, Managing Director, SECI, Jens Burgtorf, Director, Indo-German Energy Programme, GIZ and other officials from the organizations. International consultants for Solar Guidelines E.Quadrat and Eclareon, who are part of Phase II, also participated. The conclave included several presentations by state nodal agencies, private sector and an international overview by Dr. Matthias Eichelbroenner of E.Quadrat GmbH. All representatives appreciated the unique utility of the solar guidelines and felt it would be a useful tool to incorporate.

Shri Rajendra Nimje opened the session, and said, “There is a constant struggle for information, and through Solar Guidelines, this challenge can be overcome, as all information will now be available to all stakeholders on one platform.” He urged all State Nodal Agency (SNA) officials for their inputs, because SNAs are key stakeholders.

Solar Guidelines Phase II kick-started in the presence of Shri Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary, MNRE, Shri Rajendra Nimje, Managing Director, SECI, Mr. Jens Burgtorf, Director, Indo-German Energy Programme, GIZ, officials from State Government and private s

Shri. Tarun Kapoor thanked GIZ for their continual inputs and was very appreciative of this bilateral collaboration. He said, “It is a very challenging task to collect and regularly update latest information related to solar project development in all states, and once the platform is complete, it will automatically get popularised in the market.”

Additional information

The Solar Guidelines is a first-of-its-kind ‘Web based tool’ (www.solarguidelines.in) aimed at providing access to the latest information with regular updates to various stakeholders, located nationally as well as internationally. It provides a clear pathway to development of solar power projects and will enable ease of navigation through the legal-administrative-regulatory frameworks from concept to commissioning.

It envisages enabling investment and rapid development of the Solar Sector by facilitating dissemination of latest information on development of project(s), policy framework announced by the respective Governments’, regulatory framework specified by the appropriate Electricity Regulatory Commission, Contractual Agreements (PPA/PSA), and details of approval and clearances required for timely commissioning and financial closure of solar installations etc. Phase I was completed in Rajasthan and Phase II is scheduled to start in 10 states across the country.