Renewable energy regulatory advisory

The RE rulebook keeps moving

Renewable energy rules in India sit in several layers: national policy and schemes, central rules on open access and connectivity, CERC and SERC regulations and orders, state renewable energy policies, and consumption obligations on buyers. Each layer is revised on its own timetable. In Gujarat, for example, GERC listed draft regulations on grid-interactive distributed renewable energy sources in May 2026. A draft is not yet law, but it can change a project's plan.

For a project, this creates three practical risks:

• Assumptions that no longer hold. The business plan was built on a reading of the rules that has since changed.
• Approvals sought under the wrong framework. An application follows an older procedure, and time is lost.
• Contracts that are silent on change. The PPA or supply contract does not say who bears the cost when a rule moves.

Following the changes is the job of renewable energy regulatory updates. Deciding what they mean for one project is the job of advisory.

Where we help

Our renewable energy regulatory advisory is organised around the decisions a project has to make:

• Policy assessment: which central and state frameworks apply to the project, and what each requires or allows.
• Approvals mapping: the registrations, permissions and clearances the project needs, in order, with the documents for each.
• PPA and contract review: regulatory terms such as change in law, charges, scheduling and termination, checked against the rules that apply. Where a contract or tariff leads to a commission matter, see power sector regulatory advisory.
• Route to market: sale to a distribution licensee, sale to a commercial or industrial buyer through open access, or captive use. Under the Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022, consumers with 100 kW or more of contracted demand can seek green energy open access, and captive consumers have no load limit. Green energy open access and captive power advisory covers that route in detail.
• Compliance requirements: obligations that continue after commissioning, such as reporting, renewals and conditions attached to approvals.
• Regulatory due diligence: for investors and lenders, a structured review of a project's approvals, contracts and regulatory exposure.
• Storage: where a project adds batteries, see BESS regulatory advisory.

The value: decisions made on the current rules, before money is committed.

What you receive

• An applicability note: the frameworks that apply to your project, what each requires, and what remains unclear.
• An approvals map: each approval, the authority, the order and the documents, as a working checklist.
• A contract review memo: regulatory issues in a PPA or supply contract, with clause references and suggested changes for your counsel.
• A route-to-market comparison: the options compared on the rules and charges that apply. For the numbers, we work with renewable energy project financial models.
• An obligation note and, for investors, a due diligence report (see below).

How Gujarat's renewable energy policy applies to your project

The Government of Gujarat issued the Gujarat Integrated Renewable Energy Policy 2025 on 24 December 2025. For a project in Gujarat, it is a document to check early.

We assess how the policy applies to your project. That means reading it with the project's facts (technology, size, location, connection and route to market) and with GERC's regulations and orders. We then set out what it requires, what it allows and what remains unclear. Where you also need the effect in numbers, for example on the case for on-site solar at your plant, a policy impact simulation applies the policy's notified terms to your plant's data.

We do not summarise the policy's provisions on this page. Whether a provision applies to you, and from when, depends on your project. The answer should come from the text, read against your facts.

Renewable consumption obligations

The renewable consumption obligation under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 (explained on our renewable energy regulatory updates page) has been revised since it was first set, so the current notification, not an older summary, is the reference.

In Gujarat, GERC's renewable procurement regulations (2025) also set purchase and storage obligations. Gujarat still uses the term renewable purchase obligation in those regulations, so both terms are in use.

For a business, these obligations link regulation to procurement. We check whether the renewable consumption obligation, and GERC's purchase and storage obligations, apply to you. We then show how each procurement option, such as open access, captive supply or on-site generation, counts towards them, and what records you will need. Policy work beyond renewable energy is covered by regulatory affairs and policy advisory.

Regulatory due diligence for investors and lenders

Before you invest in or lend to a project, find out where its regulatory position is weak. Our review covers:

• approvals held, pending and still to be applied for, with any conditions attached;
• contract terms (change in law, charges, scheduling, termination) compared with the rules that apply;
• exposure to regulatory change: drafts, pending petitions and announced measures that could affect revenue or cost.

You receive a written report with a risk list, each item tagged as notified, draft, under petition or announced.

How we work

We agree the question, read the official text that applies, check your project's facts against it, and set out what applies and what to do next. Where a point is unclear, we say so. We do not promise approvals, timelines or outcomes. Read more about how we work.

Practical uses

• A developer checks a new Gujarat solar or hybrid site against the current policy and GERC rules before land is committed.
• A commercial and industrial buyer compares buying green power, captive supply and on-site generation.
• A lender reviews a project's approvals and PPA before financial close.