Union Minister for renewable energy approves Dispute Resolution Mechanism for wind/solar sector

Recently after taking charge of the ministries of Power and New & Renewable Energy, the Power & Energy Minister, Mr. R.K.Singh has approved for a formation of a Dispute Resolution Mechanism for Solar/Wind sector. This decision was taken to facilitate the solar & wind energy projects and resolve disputes between wind & solar developers with SECI/NTPC beyond contractual agreements.
Since the issue was long pertaining, making commissioning of projects delay, a three-member committee will be set up with the approval of the Ministry (NRE). The committee will consist of members from the industry well aware of the process involved. The issues dealt by the dispute committee will include:

• All cases of appeal against decisions given by SECI on the extension of time requests based on terms of the contract.
• All cases related to issues not included in the contractual agreement like site procurement, delay in land allotment due to the policy change, processing of grant and other similar issues.

The timeline provided to resolve such cases is of 21 days within which the committee will have to provide with a satisfactory recommendation to MNRE. Further, DRC’s recommendation along with MNRE’s observations will be sent to the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy for a final decision.
This initiative has come at a time when India as a country has achieved approximately 80 GW installed renewable capacity ( Solar, Wind, Biomass, Bagasse, Small hydro & others). In order to achieve the remaining capacity from renewable energy, the resolution committee will provide the required support in resolving matters and accelerating the project commission in the country.