Environment Impact Assessment not applicable to solar projects
18 August: India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has made clear that the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) from 2006 are not applicable to solar PV, solar thermal, and solar park projects, in response to requests for clarification.
However, the disposal of PV cells will still come under Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Trans-Boundary Movement) Rules from 2016.
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Solar Parks will also be subject to acts regarding water and air pollution.
Customs Duty concessions to continue post GST
21 August: MNRE has notified the industry that the issuance of Excise duty Exemption certificates (EDECs) for solar projects has ceased and has been subsumed into the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was introduced on 1 July this year.
Meanwhile Concessional Customs Duty Certificates (CCDCs) for availing duty concession on the procurement of materials and components for PV projects will be continued. For this reason, MNRE has released a form explaining how to claim these concessions.
Solar DC guidelines on and off-grid
22 August: MNRE has issued guidelines for both grid-connected and off-grid solar DC systems.
The ministry had already established a committee to work on DC system configurations for both applications. It made the following recommendations.
