In 2010, India launched what it called the National Solar Mission, a strategy to spur the country’s expansion into renewable energy. The objective was to grow the renewable industry through solar power installations and enhance domestic manufacturing capacity to position India as a global hub for solar photovoltaic manufacturing. Seeing the opportunities, the government invested heavily to support electrical generation, growing by 25% between 2008-2019. Despite the advantages of renewable energy sources and the growing demand for electricity, the country had an installation deficit of 28.8%.
Several factors contributed to this decline including retracting commitments to power purchase agreements, slow rate of power sale tie-ups, lack of skilled workforce and manufacturing facilities, as well as environmental and ecological concerns. Disputes and conflicts have emerged related to contract provisions and affected populations to right-of-way issues and environmental problems. In addition, disputes involving international trade and policy changes have also impacted the industry.
Researchers Padam Narayan, Santu Kar, and Kumar Neeraj Jha saw a vital need for an in-depth study on disputes in renewable energy projects, why they happen, and ways they might be addressed. Their article, “Disputes in Renewable Energy Development: International and Domestic Interventions,” focuses on the critical factors leading to disputes. Using both international and domestic case studies, they discuss the performance impacts on the sector’s growth. Learn more about their findings and recommendations in the Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction at https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/JLADAH.LADR-1128. The abstract is below.
Abstract
India’s National Solar Mission (NSM) is one of the most extensive renewable energy programs worldwide. The program underlays various short-term to long-term goals targeting the country’s growing needs and commitment to climate change control. However, the actual progress lags behind the growth estimations. Similar to other power resources, disputes in the renewable sector are inevitable. The study explored two such dispute cases, including international and domestic interventions, which impacted the sector’s growth trajectory. The study explored disputes’ explicit and implied impact on capacity deployment and determined their long-term consequences. The study identified that the international interventions in the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade dispute case diminished the domestic solar manufacturing potential, induced import dependency, and hindered domestic policy and plans. The nonself-reliance is susceptible to supply chain disruptions, geopolitics, nonavailability of spares and services, and unilateral price changes. On the other hand, the domestic interventions in the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) habitat encroachment dispute case resulted in an additional financial burden on the project developers beyond the agreed tariff and the stranding of large capacity solar and wind projects for a long time. These impacts could be the genesis of other potential disputes and conflicts. Furthermore, the study proposes alternate measures that would support dispute avoidance while securing the rights of both parties in dispute.
See how you could address or avoid similar disputes with the full paper in the ASCE Library: https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/JLADAH.LADR-1128.
