CHENNAI: After introducing two separate policies for extending the life cycle of windmills that have completed 20 years of operation and for pumped storage facilities last year, the state government in 2025-26 budget announced that it would introduce a new integrated renewable energy policy (IREP).
The government released the windmill-related policy in September 2024, but a section of wind power generators challenged it in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. The court issued an interim stay on its implementation and referred the matter to a division bench.
Acknowledging that the other two policies would automatically lapse once the IREP gets finalised, a senior official said the new policy aims to provide a comprehensive plan for the green energy sector covering wind, solar, biomass, and pumped storage projects, etc.
K Venkatachalam, chief advisor and CEO of Renewable Energy Producers Association, told TNIE, “Tamil Nadu introduced its first solar policy in 2012, and a revised one in 2019 during the previous AIADMK regime. Those policies have expired, and there has never been a clear policy for wind energy so far,” he said.
A senior official from Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Limited (TNGECL) told TNIE only the announcement on IREP has been made, and the drafting would begin after official approval. A decision on composition of the drafting committee will be decided accordingly, the official added, assuring adequate consultation will be held with all stakeholders.