Once the leader, Karnataka slips in renewable energy production

According to data by the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL), the number of RE projects commissioned in the state has declined over the years. Photo For Representation.

Karnataka, which in 2021, had the highest installed capacity for renewable energy production in the country, has fallen behind in the last two years.

Renewable energy-rich states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, in the last two years, have surpassed Karnataka by increasing their installed capacity by at least 9,000 MW, while Karnataka has been able to add up only 3,000 MW of capacity. Karnataka now stands in the fourth place with respect to installed capacity.

The new Renewable Energy (RE) projects taken up in the government sector have come down drastically over the last few years. According to data by the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL), the number of RE projects commissioned in the state has declined over the years.

Data showed that RE projects of capacity 1,317.36 MW were commissioned in 2019-20 and this dropped to 236.83 MW in 2020-21. Though there has been a nominal increase in the new projects commissioned after 2020-21, it has remained close to 500 MW. 

The officials opined that this was because the state had already met the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO).

“We improved our capacity drastically in 2019-20 to meet the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO). As a result, we turned power surplus and later, the projects may have slowed down,” said K P Rudrappaiah, Managing Director of KREDL.

Yet another official from the KREDL said that the projects need to be planned considering the demand.

“Once the RPO is reached, ESCOMs will not purchase more. We have to consider this as well,” the official said. On the other hand, the private installations also seem to have remained low, compared to other states and this calls for a push, the industry experts said. “The consumers, especially industries, are ready to move towards open access solar projects and captive generation. However, the policies and the implementation should be supportive.

Now, the open access consumers have to pay up additional cross subsidy charges, wheeling, and transmission charges which run high. Implementation is not holistic and the authorities have failed to see the bigger picture. This has created hurdles in the path of smooth transition to RE,” said M G Prabhakar, Advisor for the Energy Committee, Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI).