MNRE begins talks with states on draft floating solar policy, FSPV roadmap

MNRE has initiated discussions with states on the draft floating solar policy and potential assessment, aiming to expand FSPV projects by easing land constraints and creating a clear execution framewo

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) today held a stakeholder consultation workshop on Friday on the draft floating solar PV (FSPV) potential assessment report and the draft floating solar policy prepared by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) and IIT Roorkee, respectively.

 

The workshop discussed solutions such as the plug-and-pay model and allotment of water bodies with all necessary approvals for de-risking developers and investors. It was attended by MNRE officials, state nodal agencies and representatives from states, the Solar Energy Corporation of India, NISE and IIT Roorkee.

 

Based on the potential and policy, states and Union territories can identify and prioritise sites for the development of FSPV projects, the ministry said in a statement.

 

“All the states and Union territories are requested to have internal consultations with stakeholders at the state level, including water resources, irrigation, revenue, fisheries, forest, agriculture, discoms and transcoms, PWD, tourism and pollution control, and provide their comments on the draft policy,” the ministry said in a statement.

 

The ministry said it will conduct detailed consultations with the environment ministry, Wetland Authority and the National Dam Safety Authority on the draft policy, based on feedback received from the states.

 

FSPV is emerging as an alternative to utility-scale renewable energy projects that face frequent land constraints. But only 700 megawatts of FSPV projects have been commissioned in India so far due to a lack of data on potential sites and a clear framework for project execution. The ministry said it has prepared the policy document to overcome this bottleneck.