Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

In January 2010, the UPA Government had launched National Solar Mission (which was later renamed as Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission) with an aim to install the solar power generation capacity of 20,000 MW by the end of the 13th Five Year Plan in 2022. This is a major initiative of the Government of India with active participation from States to promote ecologically sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security challenge. It will also constitute a major contribution by India to the global effort to meet the challenges of climate change. India, with its large population and rapidly growing economy, needs access to clean, cheap and reliable sources of energy. Solar power projects can be set up anywhere in the country, however the scattering of solar power projects leads to higher project cost per MW and higher transmission losses. Large size projects have a potential to bring down the cost of Solar Power. Therefore, Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects having capacity of 500 MW or above have been planned in India. Land has so far been identified in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Uttarakhand.

Role of State Government:

• Land for setting up of the Solar Park will be identified by the State Government unless the implementing agency has its own land.
• In order to provide for such a large tract of contiguous land with appropriate insolation levels, , the State Government may prioritize the use of government waste/ non-agricultural land in order to speed up the acquisition process
• The price of the land is to be kept as low as possible in order to attract the developers and, therefore, the site should be selected in such a manner so that inexpensive land can be made available
• The solar parks are preferred to be closer to Central Transmission Utility (CTU). The park must have at least 5 acres per MW towards installation of solar projects and will give opportunity for use of all technologies in a technologically agnostic fashion
• All infrastructural requirements outside the park such as connecting road, provision of water supply, construction electricity, etc. to make the park functional, will be the sole responsibility of the concerned State Government
• The State Government will propose solar parks under the Scheme including private solar parks

Subsidies/Capital support available from the Government:

1. Subsidy/Support from Central Government through MNRE: For systems upto 100 kWp in size, upto 15% subsidy can be availed with the help of MNRE-empanelled channel partners
2. For systems of sizes 100 kWp-500 kWp, subsidy can be availed through Solar Energy Corporation of India
3. Subsidy support is also available in various states. The percentage of subsidy varies according to the state policies
4. Based on the application made by the SPPD to SECI for grant of up to Rs. 20 lakh/MW or 30% of the project cost including Grid-connectivity cost, whichever is lower, SECI will forward a request to MNRE
5. MNRE will thereafter, sanction a grant to SECI as per the following milestones:

• Date of issue of administrative approval the 5% of subsidy disbursed
• Land acquisition (not less than 50% land acquired) the 20% of subsidy disbursed
• Financial Closure the 20% of subsidy disbursed
• Construction of Pooling Substation, Land Development and other Common facilities as per DPR the 25% of subsidy disbursed
• Construction of transmission line and Grid Connectivity 20% of subsidy disbursed
• Final instalment on completion 10% of subsidy disbursed

Required eligibility and conditions for applying Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission:

1. As a first step, it is important to choose the right manufacturer/supplier from whom you purchase the Solar PV system. The manufacturer/supplier should be a MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) approved manufacturer/supplier. To get a list of approved suppliers in your area, you can check the link: http://www.mnre.gov.in/information/manufacturesindustriesarchitectsconsulting-organisation/
2. Only individuals, group of individuals, Self Help Groups (SHGs), JLGs (Joint Liability Groups), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Farmer’s club are eligible for subsidy
3. To avail the subsidy, you need to have an account with a scheduled commercial bank or a regional rural bank. Most public nationalized banks can be approached for this
4. To obtain the loan one has to submit the quotation and the documents available from the vendor. Vendor should provide the MNRE approval form, TIN number, project proposal, etc which needs to be submitted to the bank
5. The banks have the right to recall the subsidy in case they observe that the subsidy is misused

Application Procedure:

1. A consumer interested to installed such a PV system may download the Application Form from the official website and submit it, duly filled, along with technical details of the System to the concerned office along with registration fee, or apply and pay the fee online
2. Duly filled Application Form, in prescribed format, shall be submitted to the office of the respective nodal officer/ authorities authorized for billing along with requisite Processing Fees (non-refundable) and certified true copies of the documents as may be required /informed from time to time as under

Contact Details:

1. The intrusted can contact to following address: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Block-14, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road,New Delhi-110 003, India
2. Fax: +91-11-24361298
3. Solar Energy Helpline No. 1800 2 33 44 77
4. Phone No: 91-11-24360404,24360707

References & Details:

1. For more details regarding documents and other help please visit official website
2. http://mnre.gov.in/
3. http://mnre.gov.in/file-manager/UserFiles/Solar-Park-Guidelines.pdf