Harnessing Solar energy, Options for India

India’s Solar-specific Policies
The first half of this chapter gives a timeline of India’s solar-specific policies and policies related to
rural electrification. The second half contains comments on the targets set and the policies
announced by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).
1. History of Indian Solar Policy and Universal Electrification:
A Timeline
For the timeline, see Table 2.
2. Policy Guidelines of the National Solar Mission
Under the JNNSM, the target for grid-connected utility-scale projects is 20,000 MW with a fifty–fifty
share proposed for solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar thermal power (CSP). The JNNSM
has adopted a three-phase approach, spanning the remaining period of the Eleventh Plan and first
year of the Twelfth (up to 2012–13) as Phase 1, the remaining four years of the Twelfth Plan (2013–
17) as Phase 2, and the Thirteenth Plan (2017–22) as Phase 3. At the end of each Plan, and mid-term
during the Twelfth and Thirteenth Plans, there will be an evaluation of progress, and review of
capacity and targets for subsequent phases based on emerging costs and technology trends at both
domestic and global levels. As per the JNNSM, plans have been made to ramp up capacity of gridconnected
(33 kV and above) solar power generation (solar PV and CSP) to 1,000 MW within three
years, that is, by 2013; and an additional 3,000 to 9,000 MW by 2017 through the mandatory use of a
renewable purchase obligation by utilities backed with a preferential tariff. This capacity is planned
to reach 20,000 MW installed power by 2022 or more, based on an enhanced and enabled
international finance and technology transfer. The target for off-grid applications has been set at
1,000 MW by 2017 and 2,000 MW by 2022. The current status, along with the targets set for the
three phases of JNNSM are given in Table 3.
India’s Solar-specific Policies CSTEP | Page 35