The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has issued guidelines for implementation of off-grid solar power plants under the renewable energy service company (RESCO) and power purchase agreement (PPA) model.
According to the guidelines, under the phase-III of the programme, off-grid solar power plants of individual size up to 25 kW can be installed in areas where grid power has not reached or is not reliable. The scheme applies only to the northeastern states for installation of off-grid solar PV plants through RESCO mode with a central financial assistance (CFA) of 90 per cent of the benchmark cost of the system. Under the RESCO model, the ministry proposed that the vendor would install and operate the solar power plant of capacity up to 10 kWp for at least 10 years and solar PV plants of capacity above 10 kWp for at least 15 years.