Parliament Question: Cancellation of Unviable Renewable Energy Projects

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 153 ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025 CANCELLATION OF UNVIABLE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS *153. SHRI HIBI EDEN

Will the Minister of NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has recently taken any decision of cancelling unviable renewable energy project contracts due to implementation issues;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether a tentative list of projects has been prepared for such cancellation;

(d) if so, the details of the losses suffered by the Government due to such unviable projects;

(e) whether any decision has been taken for fixing the accountability for such unviable projects on the respective companies or Government departments; and

(f) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, & FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)

(a) to (f) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. *****STATEMENT Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (f) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 153 to be answered on 10.12.2025 regarding ‘Cancellation of Unviable Renewable Energy Projects’

(a) to (f): i. India has already achieved 50% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources, five years ahead of the target set under its Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement. As of 31 October 2025, the installed capacity from non-fossil sources stands at about 259 GW, with 31.2 GW added in the current financial year up to October 2025.

ii. As on 31st October, 2025, Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies (REIAs) of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), namely Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), NTPC Limited (NTPC), NHPC Limited (NHPC) and SJVN Limited (SJVN), have issued Letters of Award (LoAs) of 67,554 MW in respect of renewable power procurement tenders issued by them since April 2023 and neither any cancellations have been made after issuance of Letters of Award nor any list for cancellation has been prepared.

iii. States are also issuing renewable power procurement tenders and renewable power capacity is also being added in commercial and industrial sectors through Green Energy Open Access/ Captive route. Thus, capacity addition of renewable energy is progressing through multiple pathways and not necessarily only through REIA led bids.

iv. With the declining cost of solar-plus-storage and dispatchable renewable power, there is a growing preference among distribution companies and end procurers for such solutions. This shift has been accompanied by a reduced demand for plain solar power.

Solar-plus-storage configurations are also being preferred over wind-solar hybrid projects, particularly due to their ability to supply power during peak demand hours.

Accordingly, the Government has sensitized the REIAs to move from plain solar tenders to tenders of Solar with Energy Storage, tenders with configuration to supply renewable power during peak hours and tenders with configuration to supply Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE).

v. To facilitate the further execution of PPAs in respect of bids issued by REIAs, the Government has undertaken several proactive measures. These include urging States to comply with the Renewable Consumption Obligation (RCO) under the Energy Conservation Act, and advising Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies (REIAs) to aggregate demand from DISCOMs and other consumers before designing and issuing tenders. Regional workshops have been organized with major renewable energy- procuring States to address implementation challenges and accelerate PPA signing.

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