MNRE to soon roll out draft Renewable Energy Act

According to an article in Indian Express, MNRE (Ministry of New & Renewable Energy) is planning to notify its first draft of Renewable Energy Act for comments and suggestions.

Earlier Prime Minister Modi led government decided to come up with a Renewable Energy Act by February 2014, just before the Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet and Expo (RE-INVEST) to be organized by MNRE.

In a statement given by Mr. Upendra Tripathy, Secretary, MNRE said that – “A technical committee is working on it and they are likely to get back to us with the first draft of the legislation in 20-25 days. After that we will put it out for inviting suggestions and objections from all stakeholders including the state governments. I believe clarity in policy will help bring in much needed investment into the sector in India. This legislation will be complementary to the Electricity Act”.

The Renewable Energy Act will be work as a milestone for promoting green energy and is expected to attract huge investment in the sector. The new govt. has already showed its intentions by setting a target of 100GW solar energy by the end of 2022, which previously was 20 GW under JNNSM.

The Electricity Act 2003 provided great impetus to the power sector in many aspects as it underwent major reforms over the period of last 10 years. It is to be seen how the Renewable Energy Act shapes up, as it is expected to resolve some of the major issues the industry is facing today and at the same time provide a platform for a new revolution in RE, with creation of ample opportunities for all stakeholders and long term road-map for RE.