The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently held a stakeholder consultation workshop to deliberate on a draft Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV) Potential Assessment Report and a draft floating solar policy framework aimed at accelerating deployment across the country.
The workshop was chaired by JVN Subramanyam, Joint Secretary, MNRE, and discussed the assessment report prepared by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) and the draft policy prepared by IIT Roorkee.
With land constraints increasingly limiting large-scale renewable energy projects, floating solar has emerged as an alternative avenue. However, only around 700 MW of floating solar capacity has been commissioned in India so far, largely due to lack of reliable site data and the absence of a clear implementation framework.
To address these bottlenecks, MNRE, in association with NISE and IIT Roorkee, prepared the draft potential assessment and policy documents.
The Ministry requested states and union territories to conduct internal consultations with relevant departments including water resources, irrigation, revenue, fisheries, forest, agriculture, distribution companies, transmission utilities, public works, tourism and pollution control authorities, and provide feedback on the draft policy and identified potential.
Discussions during the workshop focused on risk mitigation measures such as “plug and pay” models and allotment of water bodies with all necessary approvals in place to de-risk developers and investors. Based on the assessment and policy framework, States and Union Territories have been urged to identify and prioritise suitable water bodies for floating solar development.
MNRE will also undertake detailed consultations with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Wetland Authority and the National Dam Safety Authority before finalising the policy framework.
The workshop was attended by senior officials from MNRE, State renewable energy nodal agencies, representatives from States and Union Territories, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), NISE and IIT Roorkee.
