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					</table><p>Rajasthan had about 2.4 GW of solar open access as of June 2025, making it one of India’s top states, with roughly 9.8% of the country’s total solar capacity. The state also held the largest open access pipeline, around 10.2 GW as of June 2025, mostly standalone solar at ~80%, solar plus storage at ~10%, and solar–wind hybrids at ~9%.</p>
<p>Policy is also pushing for storage as green energy open access projects above 5 MW must include batteries sized for at least two hours of generation or 5% of project capacity. Charge relaxations or exemptions apply when energy is supplied from a storage source. These relaxations refer to waivers or reductions of the grid/open access fees for energy delivered from a storage system.</p>
<p>Deepak Jain, Chief Technical Officer of <a href="https://insolationenergy.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insolation Energy</a>, attests to Rajasthan’s suitability for open access projects. Strong irradiation, large tracts of non-fertile land suitable for utility-scale plants, and the ability to utilize interstate transmission are contributory factors.</p>
<p>He said that cement, steel, textiles, and ceramics are shifting towards renewables to control costs and achieve long-term stability. Roadblocks remain, including grid upgrades within the state and on the ISTS, lengthy approval cycles, and a shortage of skilled manpower across manufacturing and EPC as deployments scale.</p>
<p>Himanshu Chandrakar, Chief Marketing Officer of <a href="https://altilium.eco/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Altilium Energie</a>, stated that buyers must first verify that the state has truly implemented green open access for solar energy before checking for eligibility. Under green energy open access, several states now allow 100 kW. Buyers must also assess commercial viability, as the primary objective is to reduce power costs. “Sustainability and economics now go together.”</p>
<p>Implementation is where most C&amp;I consumers weigh capital expenditure (capex) against operating expenditure (opex). Open access is operationally more complex than rooftop, and rules can change fast, so many prefer opex. Buyers must keep practical considerations in mind. For instance, some developers avoid loan-burdened or certain manufacturing profiles. Many insist on a minimum credit rating, and a long list of seven often becomes a shortlist of three serious options.</p>
<p>Next come tariff and term negotiations, bank guarantees and security, and technical readiness checks, including metering, site infrastructure, and the daily monitoring and settlement cadence that differs from rooftop. Structurally, buyers choose among third-party, captive, and group captive insurance options. Rajasthan’s battery rule suggests a shift towards more solar with storage and hybrids. Buyers are also testing creative pairing. For example, a pure-solar PPA with a separately contracted battery may be preferable if the prices are favorable.</p>
<p>Rahul Makahaniya, Chief Marketing Officer of <a href="https://www.soleosenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Soleos Energy</a>, said renewable purchase obligations and related mandates are tightening. In energy-intensive industries, a defined percentage of energy must come from renewable sources. “How you meet this, through captive, third-party, or group captive, is your choice, but compliance isn’t optional. Strategically, it’s like locking electricity on predictable terms for 15–25 years.”</p>
<p>For captive use, with a debt-to-equity ratio of roughly 70% and 30%, the landing cost would be ₹1.75 (~$0.020)–₹2 (~$0.023)/kWh in Rajasthan. Against a typical grid landing cost of ₹8.10 (~$0.091)–₹8.15 (~$0.092)/kWh including demand charges, “you’re saving roughly ₹6 (~$0.068)/kWh.” In a 1 MW example, the annual savings would be approximately ₹18.2 million (~$205,082), depending on the units generated.</p>
<p>For third-party PPAs, buyers often see ₹3 (~$0.034)–₹4 (~$$0.045)/kWh, depending on the tenor and risk, but must also add open-access charges and the cross-subsidy surcharge, which can increase the all-inclusive landed cost. The upside is no capital outlay. “You post the roughly three-month bank guarantee, pay as you go, and the developer carries asset and operational risk. Many buyers invest small amounts per MW, around ₹7 million (~$78,878) for 2 MW, and then secure lower all-in tariffs than those offered through a third-party PPA.</p>
<p>Makhaniya emphasized that PPA clauses make or break the economics. The focus should be on tariff and escalation, banking and scheduling, change-in-law, SLAs tied to availability or CUF, curtailment, termination, security, metering, and settlement timelines. Buyers must understand lock-ins, such as 15-year terms, and offtake obligations, including the risk of paying for shortfalls if demand falls below the contracted energy level.</p>
<p>These opportunities were <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/event/c-and-i-clean-energy-meet-2025-jaipur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deliberated</a> in detail at Mercom’s C&amp;I Clean Energy Meet in Jaipur recently.</p>
<p>Jain said adopters report significant savings compared to grid tariffs and value price certainty. ESG reporting becomes simpler, and export competitiveness improves as global buyers increasingly prefer suppliers that use renewable energy. Challenges remain, especially in predictable policy, faster approvals, and skills development.</p>
<p>On timing, he argued that both cost and technology favor an early move. “We started way back around 2011 at ₹180 (~$2.03 million) –₹185 million (~$$2.08 million)/MW, and today installed costs are roughly ₹25 million (~$281,705) –₹35 million ($394,388)/MW depending on components and site.” Technology has also moved. “Module efficiencies have moved beyond 22%, and with TOPCon/HJT and tandem approaches, more than 25% at the module level is plausible,” which boosts yields and long-term economics. “Locking 15–25 years of power-price stability is hard to replicate with any other input.”</p>
<p>Looking ahead, Chandrakar said contracts are being signed in Rajasthan. “In the next year, more than 1,000 MW of PPAs could be signed,” and over the next two to three years, contracted capacity in Rajasthan could move toward ~3,000 MW as the market expands from obvious early adopters to a broader C&amp;I base.</p>
<p>On storage, Makahaniya described Rajasthan’s policy as one of the most aggressive for open access and said interest is rising. He mentioned tenders or interests discussed in 1,000–2,000 MW chunks. Sizing depends on the use case, load shape, price spreads, and grid constraints, so storage can shift solar generation from non-peak to peak periods.</p>
<p>He pointed to peak windows such as 06:00–10:00 and 18:00–22:00 and noted that some rules may not allow banking during peak times. Storage enables buyers to match their supply to their working patterns and capture peak-price arbitrage. Policy incentives, such as charge relaxations or exemptions for storage-backed supply, improve viability even though batteries increase capital expenditure.</p>


Rajasthan Well Suited for Green Energy Open Access Projects


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					</table><p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>At a recent Mercom India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/event/c-and-i-clean-energy-meet-2025-hyderabad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">C&amp;I Clean Energy Meet</a> session titled <strong>‘Clean Power Purchase – Switching To Renewable Energy And Optimizing Savings’</strong> 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.</p>
<p>Developers claim that policy uncertainty has led to a significant disparity in the market for green energy open access in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.</p>
<p>Yogish HN, Vice President at <a href="https://enerparc.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enerparc Energy,</a> 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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>According to Rahul Makahaniya, Chief Marketing Officer at <a href="https://www.soleosenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Soleos Solar Energy</a>, 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.”</p>
<p>Panelists said that the new clean energy policy from Telangana will mandate 35% to 40% of power procurement from renewable sources.</p>
<p><strong>Load Profiling</strong></p>
<p>Vikram Malkotia, Vice President (Project Development and C&amp;I) at <a href="https://upcrenewables.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UPC Renewables India</a>, said consumers must understand the open access market, want competitive renewable energy, and be willing to navigate regulatory hurdles.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Yogish added that Enerparc analyzes the load profile of 15-minute slots over the last 12 months and suggests the optimal mix.</p>
<p><strong>Savings </strong></p>
<p>Consumers can save on power costs by gaining a lower landed cost against an average grid tariff of ₹8 (~$0.09)/kWh.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>BESS Viability</strong></p>
<p>Bundling of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is not viable in Telangana, and the market needs to wait for large-scale deployment.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>Makahaniya said BESS is currently viable in the C&amp;I sector, particularly with a high nighttime tariff.</p>
<p>To draw more consumers to go green, Mercom India hosts a multicity ‘C&amp;I Clean Energy Meet’ series designed to provide C&amp;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 <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/event/c-and-i-clean-energy-meet-2025-jaipur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jaipur</a> on September 19, 2025.</p>


Policy Uncertainty a Barrier for Solar Open Access in Telangana

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