India releases state-specific Renewable Purchase Obligation targets

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
India's RPO has not been enforced strongly to date. Credit: Yogendra

India has released state-wide targets in order to achieve its newly-revised Renewable Purchase obligations (RPOs) of 17% by 2022.

In a letter, Ministry of New and Renewable (MNRE) joint secretary Tarun Kapoor set out a long-term growth trajectory of the RPO, which includes an 8% minimum provision for solar energy.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The state-specific targets Included tentative calculations of the installed capacity requirement for each state to meet their RPOs. These calculations excluded hydro power and were based on assumptions about rooftop solar installations and growth in total energy consumption in each state.

Kapoor wrote: “As setting up of capacity takes time and solar power is now available at very competitive price, we request all the states to impress upon the distribution companies (Discoms) to procure solar power immediately in order to achieve the solar RPO well in advance each year.”

The densely populated state of Uttar Pradesh has the highest solar RPO requirement of 13,248MW by 2022.

In another letter, MNRE secretary Upendra Tripathy, requested the development of an ‘Action Plan’ in order to achieve the RPOs.

Tripathy wrote: “Operationalization of the Policy provisions would require concerted efforts, particularly gearing up electricity Discoms for higher levels of RPO.

“At present many of the states are not fulfilling RPOs.”

Until now the failure of the government to enforce the RPO has been widely criticised, with the heavily debt-laden state Discoms being reluctant to take on solar power projects. However the recent sharp drops in solar tariffs should ease this issue.

Last week speaking at an event held by the UK’s Solar Trade Association (STA), ‘British Opportunities in International Solar Markets: India Focus’,  Amit Kumar, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers India, said that India faces major challenges in achieving it renewable obligation targets.

He said: “We are struggling just like anywhere else in the world. It is difficult to achieve, but there is a movement. This was one of the initial drivers for the renewable energy in the country.”

Similarly, last November, Kapoor described the RPO as the “single most important” policy to drive solar deployment in India.

Tripathy has proposed convening a meeting in the second week of March to discuss the ‘State Action Plan 2022’ and he listed some initial actions to help the RPO achievement including, for example, the bundling of renewable energy projects with fossil-fuel based projects.

Read Next

October 8, 2025
Saatvik Green Energy has secured new solar PV module orders worth more than INR7 billion (US$84 million), to be delivered in this financial year.
October 7, 2025
Juniper Green Energy through its subsidiary Juniper Green Sigma Eight has signed a 70MW power purchase agreement with renewable energy giant Tata Power. 
October 6, 2025
Indian infrastructure company focused on rooftop and ground-based solar power installations, PVV Infra has secured solar power orders worth INR7.9 billion (US$90 million) through two of its subsidiaries. 
October 6, 2025
Indian solar developer ACME Group has established a new subsidiary to manage its renewable equipment manufacturing business, under which it is planning to scale production of TOPCon PV modules.
October 6, 2025
Rajasthan government will develop 500MW/2,000MWh of standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a four-hour single-cycle configuration and extended operational life.
October 2, 2025
The Indian solar industry has 86GW and 182GW of solar cell and module manufacturing capacity, respectively, expected to be commissioned by 2027.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK