The second phase of the National Solar Mission under which the Government of India aims to engender the creation of 3,000 MW of solar power capacity, could get delayed. The reason being the insufficient government finance for the upcoming projects.
“Government investment is not flowing in, so execution of the next phase will get delayed,” ET quoted a top official at Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) as saying.
The ministry has decided to go for ‘viability gap funding (VGF)’ model for the solar power projects for the second phase. “Out of 3,000 MW, for which the reverse bidding will happen in June this year, 2,500 MW will be funded via VGF. Under this option, bidders would bid for VGF requirement in Rs/mw and the bidder with minimum VGF requirement would be selected. Balance 500 mw will be bundled with conventional power like the first phase,” said the ET report.
The finance ministry and ministry of power are yet to allocate resources for the second phase of the solar mission.
“Tight fiscal deficit situation is preventing the government from releasing any funds including National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF),” the official added.
