CHENNAI: After a prolonged legal battle with wind energy generators (WEGs), the Tamil Nadu government has amended the Repowering, Refurbishment and Life Extension Policy for Wind Power Projects. The revised policy addresses several key issues, including development charges and eligibility norms, which had earlier triggered strong opposition from developers.
Under the new policy, which came into effect on January 14, WEGs opting for repowering will have to pay a development charge of Rs 30 lakh per megawatt (MW) only for the additional or incremental capacity added through repowering. For the existing wind power capacity, a nominal charge of `5 lakh per MW will be levied.
In the earlier policy, developers were required to pay a flat development charge of Rs 30 lakh per MW for the entire wind power capacity. This provision was strongly opposed by wind power producers and resulted in legal disputes with the state government.
The revised policy has also relaxed norms related to the increase in annual energy generation. Earlier, a repowered wind project had to show an increase in generation of at least 1.25 times, or 1.1 times of the output of the old WEGs, based on the average generation of the previous three years. These fixed benchmarks have now been removed.
As per the amended policy, any project that meets the prescribed criteria will be considered for repowering if it results in an increase in annual energy generation. The increase will be assessed on a pro-rata basis, in line with the additional capacity added through repowering, instead of comparing it with the old capacity.
Reacting to the changes, K Venkatachalam, Chief Advisor and CEO of the Renewable Energy Producers Association, told TNIE that provisions such as annual banking, adjustment of power from higher time slots to lower ones, and allowing banking for all WEGs irrespective of their commissioning dates were welcome steps. However, he said the industry is awaiting detailed working instructions for further clarity.