Telangana has been the frontrunner in renewable energy space. The State has seen capacity additions increasing from 30-35 MW in 2015 to 4,059 MW in 2019, with over 90 percent of it being tapped through solar energy.
The State has not only seen success in capacity editions but also in energy conservation, creating industry-friendly policies and encouraging emerging sectors such as green mobility through electric vehicles, says an expert.
Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) Asia Director Mahua Acharya told Telangana Today, “Telangana Solar Power Policy initiated a flurry of sops for developers such as single-window and speedy clearances, exemption from the Land Ceiling Act, deemed conversion to non-agricultural land status, 100 percent refund on VAT and GST, refund on stamp duty, exemption from electricity wheeling charges and speedy approvals from the State Pollution Control Board.”
On the other hand, TSREDCO, the State entity for Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and Ministry of Power (MoP) has been providing incentives, subsidies, technical assurance, feasibility and necessary support to the implementation of renewable energy projects.
CPI’s research maps Rs 270 crores disbursed in the recent years into rural energy access and other areas. It is a significant amount putting Telangana among the top States in the country, she noted.
Energy efficiency
In the 2019 State Energy Efficiency report, Telangana stood first in energy efficiency in municipalities, second in cross sectors, third in domestic sector and transportation, and fourth in industries and energy conservation.
Mahua Acharya said, “The State has implemented demand-side management activities for reducing energy consumption at municipal and panchayat level. In Hyderabad alone, around four lakh existing street lights have been replaced with energy-efficient LED streetlights, which helped in cutting down energy demand by 40 MW.”
The State is ranked at sixth place in India with 106 LEED certified green building projects in 2019 with private sector and commercial spaces leading this change. Moving beyond the green buildings, Telangana government’s large-scale tree-planting programme Haritha Haram has mandated municipalities and gram panchayats to allocate significant budgets for promoting the green drive.
On the electric vehicles front, the State has taken a lead by launching EV Policy, by providing road tax exemptions and other incentives for not only private but public vehicles as well. EV companies will also get preferential market access to establish their manufacturing plants in Telangana.
While hydel and wind policies are under active consideration, the next biggest revolution which can provide impetus to renewable energy in the State is with the electrical vehicles, she emphasised.
