25-05-2025
Draft policy eases green targets
Chennai: TNPDCL and other private power producers may soon get relief from some of their green energy obligations. A new draft amendment has proposed lowering the mandatory purchase targets for wind and hydro power.
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These changes are part of Centre's 2023 policy on Renewable Power Obligations, which aims to reduce carbon emissions and promote green energy. The policy requires power firms, including private and industrial users, to buy a fixed percentage of renewable energy based on power use.
Currently, TN's regulations require TNPDCL to buy 3.36% wind and 1.48% hydro power by 2025-26. These targets would rise to 6.94% and 2.82% by 2029-30.
However, under the draft amendment, the targets for 2025-26 have been reduced to 1.45% for wind and 1.22% for hydro, applying only to projects set up after March 2024.
Proposed changes allow more flexibility. If there's extra green power in one category, it can be used to cover shortfalls in other categories. Nonetheless, the total renewable power obligations remain unaltered. For 2025-26, the RPO target for TNPDCL is 33.01%, which would go up to 43.33%.
However, TNPDCL officials state there will still be a deficit in meeting RPO obligations as overall target remains altered. "The deficit widens from 3.55% for 2025-26 to 11.14% for 2029-30. Over the next 10 years, we need to add 15,000MW apart from the projects that are already in the pipeline in order to meet the RPO targets," said an official.
