‘TN has potential to be carbon-neutral production hub’

By Venkadesan S

Tamil Nadu has the potential to become a global hub for the carbon-neutral manufacturing industry due to its renewable energy potential. However, it must soon remove barriers such as high network charges on rooftop solar and accelerate wind repowering while streamlining the green open access rules, according to a new study by United Nations-backed NGO Auroville Consulting.

The report stresses that transparent tariffs, stable policies, and reliable access to affordable clean power are essential to attract investments and keep industries competitive. The study, ‘Powering Tamil Nadu’s Economic Growth,’ notes that the state has a renewable energy potential of more than 122 GW -104.75 GW from wind and 17.67 GW from solar on wasteland -but current policy and regulatory gaps limit progress.

While Tamil Nadu already sources 36% of its power from carbon-neutral sources, its industries face challenges such as costly green tariffs, frequent outages, and cross-subsidy surcharges. “Policy misalignments, particularly on rooftop solar and wind repowering, discourage adoption,” the report said, adding that resolving the discom’s financial stress and ensuring fair open access would be critical for long-term investment security.

With global corporations increasingly demanding sustainable supply chains, the study says that Tamil Nadu stands at a “strategic inflection point” to leverage its renewable strengths and lead the way in carbon-neutral industrial growth.

Renewable Energy Producers Association’s chief advisor K Venkatachalam said regulatory reforms introduced by the union govt with regard to green power have not yet been adopted in the state. “Whereas, the curtailing of renewable power continues, while TNPDCL recently hiked the additional surcharge on green power procured from third-party generators from 10 paise to 1.14 per unit. Overall, policies and practices are discouraging to green energy producers in the state. We need dedicated green corridors to evacuate renewable power,” he said.

The study has proposed a 10-point action plan, including phasing out cross-subsidies, enabling MSMEs to access green finance, district-level technical assistance, and fostering innovation in energy storage and distributed solar. Quick wins suggested are the removal of rooftop solar network charges, viable time-of-day green tariffs, and faster rollout of Green Open Access.

TNPDCL chairman J Radhakrishnan said Tamil Nadu has a geographical advantage to harness more renewable energy than most other states and said that the state has the responsibility of capacity addition by taking into account the limitations of renewable power. “We are augmenting the capacity with a judicious mix of conventional and renewable sources. Pumped storage plants have been announced and tenders have been floated for battery energy storage systems. Soon, more tenders will be floated and we are also working on transmission lines and are ready to accommodate when offshore wind is available,” he pointed out.

Sources in the discom said that the wind repowering policy is also taking shape well.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.