Ministry of Power on Thursday notified the policy for green hydrogen and green ammonia. Dubbed as the National Hydrogen Mission, it aims to aid the government in meeting its climate targets and making India a green hydrogen hub.
The mission will help in meeting the target of production of 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 and the related development of renewable energy capacity, the ministry said in a statement.
The government has envisaged hydrogen and ammonia to be the future fuels to replace fossil fuels. Production of these fuels by using power from renewable energy, termed as green hydrogen and green ammonia, is one of the major requirements towards environmentally sustainable energy security of the nation, noted the Power Ministry.
The policy for green hydrogen and green ammonia provides:
Green hydrogen and ammonia manufacturers may purchase renewable power from the power exchange or set up renewable energy capacity themselves or through any other, developer, anywhere.
The government will grant open access within 15 days of receipt of application.
The green hydrogen or ammonia manufacturer can bank their unconsumed renewable power, up to 30 days, with the distribution company and take it back when required.
Distribution licensees can also procure and supply renewable energy to the manufacturers of green hydrogen or green ammonia in their states at concessional prices which will only include the cost of procurement, wheeling charges and a small margin as determined by the State Commission.
Waiver of inter-state transmission charges for a period of 25 years will be allowed to the manufacturers of green hydrogen and green ammonia for the projects commissioned before June 30, 2025.
The manufacturers of green hydrogen or ammonia and the renewable energy plant shall be given connectivity to the grid on priority basis to avoid any procedural delays.
The benefit of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) will be granted incentive to the hydrogen or ammonia manufacturer and the distribution licensee for consumption of renewable power.
To ensure ease of doing business a single portal for carrying out all the activities including statutory clearances in a time bound manner will be set up by MNRE.
Connectivity, at the generation end and the green hydrogen or green ammonia manufacturing end, to the ISTS for Renewable Energy capacity set up for the purpose of manufacturing green hydrogen or green ammonia shall be granted on priority.
Manufacturers of green hydrogen or Ammonia shall be allowed to set up bunkers near ports for storage of green ammonia for export or use by shipping. The land for the storage for this purpose shall be provided by the respective port Authorities at applicable charges.
The government is taking various measures to facilitate the transition from fossil fuel and fossil fuel-based feedstocks to green hydrogen and green ammonia. The notification of this policy is one of the major steps in this endeavour.
The policy promotes Renewable Energy (RE) generation as it will be the basic ingredient in making green hydrogen. This in turn will help in meeting the international commitments for clean energy, explained the ministry.