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Under the new policy, companies will get the liberty to set up renewable energy capacity anywhere by themselves or through a developer
Photo Credit : PIB
India will launch the first part of its National Hydrogen Policy on Thursday, said Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy RK Singh on Wednesday.
While speaking at 'India's Leadership in Energy Transition' conference on Wednesday, Singh said that the first part of the policy will include components which would be implemented by the government immediately. The second part, according to him, is with the Expenditure Finance Committee.
The minister further added that under the new policy, companies will get the liberty to set up renewable energy capacity anywhere by themselves or through a developer.
"We will give them open access," Singh said, adding that the government will also allow banking or storage of excess green hydrogen produced by any company for up to 30 days, in case of capacities which are set up before 2025.
Prime Minister Modi had announced the National Hydrogen Mission in his eighth Independence Day speech last year and said that India should become a global hub for hydrogen exports.
At the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, last November, India pledged that it would reach net zero by the year 2070 and Green Hydrogen, according to experts, will play an important role in meeting that target. The hydrogen ecosystem is at a nascent stage in India and has high costs associated with it.
The government plans to implement the Green Hydrogen Consumption Obligation (GHCO) in fertilizer production and petroleum refining, similar to what was done with renewable purchase obligations (RPO). RPOs require electricity distribution companies to buy a fixed amount of renewable energy to cut reliance on fossil fuels. India’s total hydrogen demand is expected to touch 11.7 million metric tonnes (mmt) by 2029-30 from the current 6.7 mmt.
Singh at the conference also said that the government would extend the ongoing Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO).
"We are going to come up with rules. We have a draft under consideration, in which we are providing that the RPO obligation laid down by the Central Government shall be followed," Singh said.
He stated that with the proposed amendment in the Electricity Act, the government is considering increasing penalties for non-compliance of RPOs.