The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has dismissed petitions to extend 2011 feed-in tariff (FIT) levels past January 28th, 2012, as well as issuing new tariff levels for systems commissioned from January 29th, 2012 through March 31st, 2015, according to the Natural Group.

The order on January 27th, 2012 offers levelized tariffs for PV between INR 9.28/kWh (USD 0.188/kWh) and INR 12.44/kWh (USD 0.252/kWh) for PV plants commissioned through March 31st, 2013. The commission has also set a rate of INR 11.55 (USD 0.234/kWh) and INR 12.91 (USD 0.262/kWh) for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants with and without an accelerated depreciation benefit.


Gujarat state government opposed extension, called for lower FIT rates

According to India's Business Standard, GERC stated that none of the petitioners had offered a convincing argument for further extending the FIT deadline, which had already been extended to January 28th, 2012 from December 31st, 2011.

The state government of Gujarat had also opposed an extension to the FIT, and had proposed a maximum feed-in tariff of INR 7.49/kWh (USD 0.146/kWh) for PV developers who commission projects after January 28th, 2012.


Two tranches under FIT for PV

Under Gujarat's FIT, higher rates are paid for the first 12 years, with a lower rate for the following 13 years. The tariff contains two tranches, one for PV plants smaller than 1 MW, and another for plants larger than 1 MW.

The rates for PV plants decrease to between INR 8.03/kWh (USD 1.63/kWh) and INR 10.76/kWh (USD 0.218/kWh) for PV plants commissioned from April 1st, 2013 through March 31st, 2015.

2012-01-30| Courtesy: Natural Group; Image: GERC | solarserver.com © Heindl Server GmbH

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