GUWAHATI, Feb 28: The North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) on Friday welcomed the recent notification of the Assam government’s policy which will promote renewable energy and its integration with the grid.
The ‘Assam Integrated Clean Energy Policy’, which was notified on February 24, provides incentives for tea, coffee, and rubber consumers of the state government’s power distribution company (APDCL).
“We are extremely happy with this new policy. Tea industry can reap benefits from this policy. We are grateful to Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma for the specific inclusion of tea category in the policy,” NETA advisor Bidyananda Barkakoty said.
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NETA had earlier organised a seminar on “Prospects for implementation of solar power projects in tea industries of Assam” and following that, all stakeholders had appealed to the state government seeking an annual, instead of monthly, billing cycle for the tea industry which has been addressed in this policy, he said.
According to the policy, the maximum capacity of grid-connected rooftop solar power plant at a single location for tea, coffee and rubber consumers shall be limited to 1000 kW.
Energy banking shall also be permitted on a yearly basis for all consumers of the tea, coffee, rubber category.
Banking means a facility through which the unutilised portion of energy from any of the green energy sources during a billing month is kept in a separate account and such energy accrued shall be treated in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Green Open Access Regulations to be notified by Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission after gazette notification of this policy document.
Barkakoty said that tea industry is seasonal in nature and there is no production during the period from December to February with negligible production in March.
The solar power generated during the four off-season months (December to March), therefore, remained completely unproductive for the tea industry, he said.
In fact, before this policy, there was no provision whereby the excess unconsumed energy generated and injected into the grid could be carried forward and adjusted during succeeding producing months, he added.
‘This problem of the tea industry was resolved in this new policy. The days are not far when all the tea factories of Assam will be on 100 per cent solar,” Barkakoty added. (PTI)
