The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has on December 7, 2023, issued a circular on National Repowering & Life Extension Policy for Wind Power Projects (Repowering Policy) in supersession to the Policy for Repowering of Wind Power Projects notified on August 5, 2016. The Repowering Policy has been notified to enable the repowering/replacement of older generation turbines with the latest, more efficient turbines, even before the end of the design life of the old turbines. Refurbishment may be undertaken by modifications in the turbine components such as gearbox, blades, generator, controller, etc., subject to safety and performance assessment as per relevant standards. The Repowering Policy also identifies the repowering potential of the country to be 25.406 GW considering wind turbines below 2 MW capacity. The implementation of the Repowering Policy would be undertaken through the respective state nodal agencies/organizations involved in the promotion of wind energy in respective states for projects connected to intra-state transmission system (SNA) or the central nodal agency appointed by the central government for projects connected to interstate transmission system (CNA). Key points of the Repowering Policy have been set out below:

Eligibility: The Repowering Policy identifies a set of eligibility criteria for wind turbines that can undergo repowering/refurbishment under the Repowering Policy:

  1. Wind turbines which are not in compliance with the quality control order issued by MNRE;
  2. Wind turbines that have completed their design life as certified under the respective type certificate. Further, wind turbines that are required to be replaced within their design life due to malfunctioning, issues in workmanship, safety, etc. will also require to be repowered/refurbished;
  3. Wind turbines of rated capacity less than 2 MW; and
  4. Based on commercial/voluntary consideration after 15 years of installation.

Repowering/Refurbished Project: A project qualifying under the aforementioned eligibility criteria and where the annual generation is enhanced by at least 1.5 times the earlier generation will qualify as a repowering/refurbished project under the Repowering Policy. The actual generation of the old wind turbines will be calculated based on the actual average generation for the last 3 years (from the date of disconnection from the grid) and the refurbished/repowered project will have to satisfy the aforementioned condition within 3 years from the date of commissioning. Based on this the repowering/refurbished projects have been classified into 2 categories:

  1. Standalone Project: A wind power project having a single or group of wind turbines owned by a single entity; and
  2. Aggregation Project: A wind power project having a group of wind turbines owned by multiple entities with shared common infrastructure.

Implementation Arrangements (Standalone Project): A Standalone Project will be implemented in the following manner:

  1. The owner may submit a detailed project report (DPR) for repowering/refurbishment to the concerned SNA/CNA for verification, or the SNA/CNA will identify potential turbines for repowering and elicit interest from potential project owners to submit DPR.
  2. The refurbishment of turbines to ensure extension will be undertaken after obtaining the consent of the SNA. The turbines will be assessed as per UL 4143: wind turbine generator lifetime extension standard or any such standard issued by BIS. Post such assessment, a separate type certificate will be issued. The maximum life of the refurbished turbines shall be 40 years from the date of commissioning.
  3. Based on DPR, the SNA/CNA will coordinate with the respective STU/CTU for availability augmentation of transmission capacity which will be provided by the STU/CTU as per the available provisions/schemes. The notice for such augmentation will have to be sent by the developer 2 years in advance as per the proposed repowered capacity of the wind power project. Appropriate transmission charges will need to be paid by the developer as per the prevailing regulations.
  4. Upon scrutiny of the project, transmission capacity availability, and consent of DISCOM, SNA/CNA will provide a consent letter to the project owners/developers.
  5. The notice of repowering will also be sent to the Wind Repowering Committee set up under the Repowering Policy. Post examining the repowering process the Wind Repowering Committee will grant a moratorium on the supply of power under the respective power purchase agreement for the period of repowering up to a maximum of 2 years.

Implementation Arrangements (Aggregation Project): An Aggregation Project will be implemented in the following manner:

  1. SNAs/CNAs may identify the potential turbines for repowering. SNAs/CNA may either nominate any central/state public sector enterprise as Wind Repowering Project Aggregators (WRPA) to repower projects or elicit interest from private developers for the same.
  2. The selection of the private developers will be through a transparent mechanism based on minimum technical and financial criteria including quality assurance certificates, financial turnover, experience, repowering plan, old asset evaluation, consent agreement from existing owners, indication of land rights arrangement, and asset disposal plan.
  3. Any one of the existing owners/developers may act as the WRPA with or without partnership with other project developers by identifying the potential turbines for repowering and submitting a proposal to the SNAs/CNA along with consent letters from the turbine owners.

Responsibilities of WRPA:

  1. Preparation of a DPR for land acquisition and development of the site.
  2. Acquisition/leasing/purchase of additional land, if required.
  3. Obtaining clearance from the state/centre and other concerned agencies.
  4. Acquisition of all assets at the site for the repowering of the project. The valuation of such functional/non-functional project assets will be undertaken in accordance with standard market practices. An indicative valuation methodology has been set out in the Annex of the Repowering Policy.
  5. WRPA will be responsible for decommissioning of the existing assets and disposal of scrap from the site as per applicable norms of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India, and the respective pollution control board. A certificate to this effect needs to be produced by WRPA.
  6. WRPA is required to prepare the site without any encumbrances for the development of a wind project as if it were a greenfield project.
  7. The WRPAs are required to adopt the following procedure for the implementation of a repowering project:
    1. Submit DPR to respective SNA/CAN.
    2. Based on DPR the SNA/CNA will coordinate with the respective STU/CTU for the availability of transmission capacity and facilitate the acquisition of land.
    3. SNA/CNA to provide consent letter after obtaining in principle consent of DISCOM.
    4. The repowering may be undertaken by the WRPA either through open bids or on an EPC basis. The notice of repowering will also be sent to the Wind Repowering Committee. Post examining the repowering process the Wind Repowering Committee will grant a moratorium on the supply of power under the respective power purchase agreement for the period of repowering up to a maximum of 2 years.

Repowering Implementation Framework: Within 1 month of the issue of the Repowering Policy, MNRE is required to appoint a monitoring and advisory committee i.e., the Wind Repowering Committee to assist MNRE in implementation of the Repowering Policy.

Arrangement of Power Purchase: The Repowering Policy provides for the following in relation to the power purchase arrangements:

  1. The power generated corresponding to an average of the last 3 years' generation, measured at the metering point before repowering would continue to be procured as per the power purchase agreement till the end of its tenure. The tenure of the PPA will be extended for the period of repowering up to a maximum of 2 years excluding delays due to force majeure events.
  2. Incumbent DISCOM will neither have any right over; nor any obligation to purchase; the additional power generated post repowering. The additional power can be sold by the developer/owner at its discretion.
  3. A project undergoing repowering will be exempted from supplying power to the DISCOM for the period of repowering on the recommendation of the Wind Repowering Committee subject to a maximum period of 2 years from the date of consent of CNA/SNA excluding delays due to force majeure events. The Repowering Policy also allows for part or early commissioning.
  4. The DISCOMs/PPAs owners will be given at least 1 year's notice before the repowering work commences so that they can tie up alternate sources of power for the intervening period.
  5. The old PPA can be terminated with mutual consent.

Benefits/Incentives: The following benefits will be provided for undertaking repowering/refurbishment:

  1. REC/PFC/IREDA will provide loans for repowering projects on the same terms, and conditions as laid down for new projects. IREDA is required to provide an additional interest rate rebate of 0.25% over and above the interest rate available to new wind projects being financed by IREDA. IREDA may also develop a suitable financial product catering to debt financing for the repowering of wind projects.
  2. All fiscal and financial benefits available to new wind projects will be available to repowering projects as well.
  3. The developer will have the liberty of micro-sitting based on an optimized energy output.
  4. The Repowering Policy also provides that the existing owners will incur a loss of future revenue from projects which should be compensated. Additionally, the WRPAs will also incur costs for decommissioning and disposal of old wind projects. While such costs will be partly compensated by income from the sale of scrap metal, the Repowering Policy provides a formula to calculate the 'Repowering Site Preparation Cost' in the Annex.

Please find attached a copy of the circular.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.