Late last week, India achieved a significant milestone by outpacing Japan to become the third largest solar energy generating country in the world. The country has produced 1,08,494 GWh solar power compared to 96,459 GWh generated by Japan.
The whopping 40% increase over the level 10 years ago has been achieved even though solar power producers are grappling with numerous approvals and licences to set up plants. Sample this: a recent report by TeamLease Regtech says over 2,700 approvals and licences required to set up a solar power plant in some states in the country. These include 799 unique regulatory obligations spread across 646 central, 153 State, and municipal requirements.
Waaree Energies
Industry leaders say they wish the red-tape was shorter but many have learnt to live with it. Waaree Energies CEO Amit Paithankar does not think the approval issues have hindered the pace of capacity additions in the sector. He, said the country has added 24 GW of solar in FY25 and 10.6 GW in Q1FY26.
“This should tell you a story ,” he said , adding that the industry is ready to deal with the challenges and the system is geared to manage those challenges.
Tata Power
Tata Power has adopted a software developed by consulting firms to track the various approvals needed. There are many processes that can be done online and the company has set in place a team to monitor them.
“I agree the approvals and licences sometimes impact the setting up of plants. There is a scope for improvement,” said Praveer Sinha, managing director and CEO at Tata Power.
Simarpreet Singh, executive director & CEO, Hartek Group said to manage a large number of requirements and frequent updates that various states require, the company has built a compliance system that combines legal expertise, digital tools, and strong partnerships. This framework helps us stay on top of annual compliance tasks and regulatory updates each year,” Singh said .
A single-window clearance system would be a significant step forward, especially considering the different rules and regulations across states & it could help centralise and streamline the entire process, he said.
The chief financial officer of a Mumbai based renewable company: “If you want to be in the industry, you have to live with it. But the government should certainly look at reducing various approvals needed in order to help us set up solar plants much more easily. After all, regulatory overkill can’t be allowed to undermine the ease of doing business in,” he said.
Along with depressed solar energy prices, which is weighing on installed and upcoming merchant power totalling 3 GW, and numerous approvals, the industry is facing double whammy of sorts, said the executive director of a renewable firm. To handle this, the company has to plan everything much in advance. Though a lot of things have improved, much more planning is on compliance is required here, compared to western countries, he said.