Despite growing demand from energy-intensive industrial sectors, solar open access projects are not seeing much traction in Telangana due to a lack of policy clarity.

Open access developers say that consumers can save up to ₹5 (~$0.06)/kWh under the captive model, while under the third-party open access model, the savings could be about ₹1 (~$0.01)/kWh.

At a recent Mercom India C&I Clean Energy Meet session titled ‘Clean Power Purchase – Switching To Renewable Energy And Optimizing Savings’ in Hyderabad, project developers discussed the reasons for lower adoption, the viability of different types of open access models, and the feasibility of adding battery energy storage with solar.

Developers claim that policy uncertainty has led to a significant disparity in the market for green energy open access in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Yogish HN, Vice President at Enerparc Energy, said Telangana has added only 16 MW of open access in the last two years due to policy uncertainty. “On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh has added around 500 MW to 600 MW of solar projects.”

He added that Telangana’s new clean energy policy has drawn considerable interest from consumers and developers, but high cross-subsidy charges and banking costs continue to affect consumers.

Yogish stated that in Telangana, there is a growing demand from the IT sector, data centers, pharma, food, and textiles. However, developers like Enerparc are in a “wait and watch” mode due to policy uncertainty.

He added that executing captive or group captive projects is also a challenge in Telangana. Applications for such projects are being received, but approvals are delayed. “Utilities see open access projects as competition. Currently, rooftop solar is the only immediate option, or consumers can buy renewable energy certificates to go green,” said Yogish.

According to Rahul Makahaniya, Chief Marketing Officer at Soleos Solar Energy, out of 100 customers, 60 choose green energy open access for cost savings, and 30 due to regulatory pressures, such as renewable purchase obligations. “However, 10% choose solar because their customers demand it.”

Panelists said that the new clean energy policy from Telangana will mandate 35% to 40% of power procurement from renewable sources.

Load Profiling

Vikram Malkotia, Vice President (Project Development and C&I) at UPC Renewables India, said consumers must understand the open access market, want competitive renewable energy, and be willing to navigate regulatory hurdles.

Explaining the process of setting up a green open access project, Malkotia said the process starts with load profiling. “We ideally ask a 15-minute load profile, but at least they must have a time-of-the-day-based load profile.”

The threshold for qualifying for green energy open access is above 100 kW. He added that to opt for open access, consumers need to decide the tenure of power procurement, ranging from short-term, five-year, and 25-year, and select the project model.

Panelists said that Telangana consumers prefer rooftop solar because net metering is allowed up to 1 MW, making it easy to invest in. If demand is higher, consumers opt for behind-the-meter projects, which allow them to consume locally but not export to the grid.

Yogish added that Enerparc analyzes the load profile of 15-minute slots over the last 12 months and suggests the optimal mix.

Savings

Consumers can save on power costs by gaining a lower landed cost against an average grid tariff of ₹8 (~$0.09)/kWh.

Makahaniya said that the savings would depend on the type of open access model. “For captive projects, consumers can save up to ₹5 (~$0.06)/kWh.” The payback for such projects ranges between two and a half to three years.

He added that under the group captive model, consumers can procure power at a landed cost of ₹4.75 (~$0.05)/kWh with savings ranging from ₹3 (~$0.03)/kWh to ₹3.5 (~$0.04)/kWh.

While the group captive projects mandate a cumulative equity investment of up to 26%, developers say that consumers can expect a return on investment within 12 months.

He explained that under the third-party open access model, consumers can obtain power at a landed tariff of ₹6.5 (~$0.07)/kWh to ₹7 (~$0.08)/kWh, providing a saving of ₹1 (~$0.01)/kWh.

BESS Viability

Bundling of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is not viable in Telangana, and the market needs to wait for large-scale deployment.

Makahaniya said that the batteries become viable when there is a policy constraint for power banking. “In Telangana, banking is allowed up to 30% with an 8% banking charge. The battery will only be viable when the costs go down.”

“Currently, if you add a BESS to an existing solar project, it adds ₹2.5 (~$0.03)/kWh to ₹3.5 (~$0.04)/kWh to the project.”

Makahaniya said BESS is currently viable in the C&I sector, particularly with a high nighttime tariff.

To draw more consumers to go green, Mercom India hosts a multicity ‘C&I Clean Energy Meet’ series designed to provide C&I energy buyers with the knowledge and tools they need to adopt clean energy solutions and lower their power costs. The next Clean Energy Meet event will be held in Jaipur on September 19, 2025.