Workshop for Formulation of State Rooftop Grid Connected Solar Policy

The WB-SBI GRPV TA Program’s SUPRABHA in association with Sikkim Renewable Energy Development Agency (SREDA) organised a workshop on ‘Formulation of State Rooftop Grid Connected Solar Policy’ on July 18, 2018 at Chintan Bhawan, Gangtok. Commencing the workshop, Mr. Sangay Khazi, Director – SREDA welcomed all the key dignitaries and participants. Mr. N.T. Bhutia, Principal Chief Engineer cum Secretary of Power Department in his inaugural address thanked MNRE and the SUPRABHA Program for aiding the state in creating an enabling environment for accelerated GRPV deployment. Dr. Amit Jain, Renewable Energy Expert from World Bank set the stage for discussion highlighting that Sikkim has set a precedent to achieve remarkable goals with the right commitment and remarked that the state can achieve the target of 50 MW despite relatively low sunny days, less energy demand and surplus power.The workshop was chaired by Mr. V.B. Pathak, IAS, Principal Secretary cum Development Commissioner, DPER and NECA Department and Finance, Revenue and Expenditure Department, Government of Sikkim, who urged the stakeholders to utilize the current construction boom in the state in tandem for rooftop promotion concerning new buildings in government sector. Mr. Yuvraj Dinesh Babu Nithyanandam, Team Leader of SUPRABHA provided an overview of GRPV initiatives and challenges for large scale deployment. Mr. Lalit Chaturvedi, Policy and Regulatory Expert from Idam Infra, delivered a detailed presentation covering current status of GPRV in the state, need for a dedicated GRPV Policy, analysis of state specific challenges, best practices in the GRPV sector, key aspects of draft GRPV Policy and Way Forward. Followed by the detailed presentation, the workshop witnessed active deliberation among the major stakeholders of the state including key officials from Energy and Power Department, Sikkim State Regulatory Commission, SREDA, Gangtok Municipal Commission Office, Health Department, Finance Department, Urban Development and Housing Department, Buildings and Housing Department.

Idam is one of the key implementation partner of EY led consortium providing technical assistance to 14 states under the SUPRABHA Program.