Land Acquisition, Infrastructure Still Major Roadblocks for Wind Projects: Report

Even as amendments have been made to bidding guidelines for wind projects in India, land acquisition and evacuation infrastructure remain major roadblocks

Even as the amendments have been made to bidding guidelines for wind projects in India, land acquisition and evacuation infrastructure will continue to remain major impediments for timely completion of such projects, according to a report. Last week, the government made certain amendments to the bidding guidelines for wind projects to fast-track installation of such energy projects in the country.

As per the amendments, now the timeline for land acquisition for wind power projects has been extended from seven months to scheduled commissioning date i.e. 18 months. 

This, the government said, will help wind power project developers in states where land acquisition takes longer time. 

In a statement, rating agency Care Ratings said, "The revised bidding guidelines which allow wind power developers to acquire land on or before scheduled commercial date (SCD) i.e. 18 months, revise declared capacity utilisation factor (CUF) once within first three years of commercial operation date (COD) and incentivise early project completion would bode well for the wind energy sector. 

The report further added that "it opines that the new amendments will benefit wind project developers. However, land acquisition and evacuation infrastructure continue to remain major impediments for timely completion of wind projects." 

The amendments, the government had said, intended not only to reduce the investment risks related to the land acquisition and CUF but also to provide incentives for early part commissioning of the project. 

The risk of wind power developers in case of delay in signing of PSA has been mitigated by starting time-line of execution of the project from the date of signing of PPA or PSA, whichever is later, the government said. 

The agency added, "Although, new guidelines would provide enough time to acquire land, any significant delay in land acquisition till the SCD would leave little headroom in terms of timelines for project execution unless a significant delay in execution of PPA or PSA itself."