India’s government denied a report in the country’s Economic Times that it would ease funding rules for companies who won licenses to set up solar power projects.
“We’ve not changed anything,” said Tarun Kapoor, a joint secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy overseeing India’s Solar Mission program. “The rules remain the same.”
The country awarded licenses for 620 megawatts of solar projects to companies such as billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power Ltd. (RPWR) and Lanco Infratech Ltd. (LANCI) in an auction in December. The government is considering allowing developers to keep their licenses even if they miss a deadline for demonstrating their ability to fund the projects, India’s Economic Times said today.
Companies without funding would forfeit their permits and bank guarantees of as much as 1.8 billion rupees ($40 million), according to current rules. More than 30 submissions for the 37 projects were received as of yesterday, before a deadline of July 24, Kapoor said in a telephone interview from New Delhi.
