Offshore Wind Worldwide 2022 edition - Flipbook - Page 109
Offshore Wind Worldwide 2022
(MOEFCC)—which administers laws in
relation to the environment and its
protection and the Ministry of Home Affairs
and Ministry of Defence— both relevant
from the perspective of security clearances.
In terms of the regulatory framework, as
indicated above, the principal statute
governing electricity in India is the
Electricity Act. Generation of electricity,
including from renewable sources, is a
de-licensed activity. The Electricity Act
provides a statutory framework for
promotion of generation of electricity from
renewable sources. The SERCs across
various states in India have imposed
obligations on distribution licensees within
the relevant state to ensure that a certain
percentage of power has to be mandatorily
sourced from renewable sources.
Additionally, several states with potential for
development of wind energy have emerged
with state-level policies to promote
development of renewable energy (including
wind energy) which offers various
exemptions and incentives to boost the
development of renewable power. In terms
of tariff regulation, as indicated in our
response above, given that the Offshore
Wind Policy envisages the award of offshore
wind projects through ICB mechanism, tariff
determined through such transparent ICB
process would be adopted by the Electricity
Regulatory Commission for such projects in
terms of Section 63 of the Electricity Act.
23 Supra note 9.
109
India
B. R
egulatory permits required for
the construction and operation
of the offshore wind farm and
the onshore grid connection
The Offshore Wind Policy identifies the
following key clearances and no objection
certificates which would be required for the
construction and operation of the Offshore
Wind Farm (OWF). The difference between
‘clearance’ and ‘no objection certificate’ as
articulated in the Offshore Wind Policy is
that activity cannot be taken up in the
absence of a ‘clearance’ however in case of a
‘no objection certificates’, the same would be
deemed to have been granted upon expiry of
a stipulated timeframe. Key regulatory
stakeholders identified in the Offshore Wind
Policy are set out in the table below23.
In addition to the above, note that other
approvals which would typically be
applicable to renewable power developers
would be applicable to developers of offshore
wind projects. These would include licenses
to operate a factory and approval of factory
plans in terms of the Factories Act, 1948
(which is a labour and work conditions and
safety-related statute), registration as
principal employer under the Contract
Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
(which applies to engagement of contract
workers including through contractors),
approval from the Chief Inspector to the
Government (in terms of the testing and
safety of the equipment installed),