The Centre has granted four-month extension to renewable energy projects scheduled to be commissioned on or after 28 February 2026, according to the latest advisory from the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE). The advisory noted that relevant agencies can provide force majeure relief for the projects in view of supply-chain challenges triggered by the West Asia war. The provision covers delays occurring on or after February 28, 2026, and will protect clean energy developers from penalties including encashment of bank guarantees, payment of daily extension fees, other financial compensation or reduction in contracted tariffs for missing project completion deadlines. However, the relief will apply only where the contractor was not already in default as of February 27, 2026.
The relief was rolled out after the MNRE received representations from the renewable energy industry seeking blanket extension of timelines for projects affected by the West Asia war that began on 28 February. The advisory was addressed to renewable energy implementation agencies including Solar Energy Corp. of India, NHPC, NTPC and SJVN, as well as state chief secretaries, the ministry of power, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). According to The Economic Times, the ministry has asked implementing agencies and state authorities to take the finance ministry's April 29 order into account while deciding requests for extensions. The force majeure provision will cover only delays directly attributable to disruptions caused by the West Asia situation and will not absolve parties of other contractual non-performance.
Sector players generally welcomed the move, with Pinaki Bhattacharyya, founder and CEO of Ampin Energy Transition, calling the advisory a welcome step and timely measure that will provide greater certainty to renewable energy developers. He emphasized that the time extension will help protect project viability and manage supply-chain risks. However, Sanjeev Aggarwal, founder and executive chairman of Hexa Climate, welcomed the extension but expressed concern about connectivity issues, stating that commissioning extension without ISTS waiver moving with it is relief only on paper.
The latest development comes at a time when prices of key solar components, including raw materials like copper, have increased due to the war. According to experts, project cost may increase up to 20% due to the rise in raw material prices and implementation of the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM) for cells. A module manufactured by a domestic OEM using imported cells costs around 16 cents per watt, compared with 22.5 cents per watt when domestic cells are used, representing a premium of 6-7 cents. Over 150 gigawatt (GW) of renewable projects are under construction as of June-end.
India has recently achieved 300GW of non-fossil capacity led by solar power generation, with the Centre aiming to reach 500GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030. The renewable energy sector has been affected by generation curtailment and solar power prices falling to zero on exchanges. India has recorded electricity curtailment equivalent to 18% of the average monthly solar generation of 13 terawatt hours (TWh), resulting in compensation payouts.
