Shree Cement receives approval for rooftop solar project

The Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission (JSERC), in India, has approved the net metering connectivity requested by Shree Cement for a captive rooftop solar power project of 1.99MW at 132kV supply.

The state regulator said that connectivity would be provided subject to the fulfillment of requirements concerning system protection, data communication, and metering of the Jharkhand Urja Sancharan Nigam Ltd, State Load Despatch Center and the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL), respectively.

Shree Cement had filed a petition requesting the commission to allow for the net metering facility, regardless of the voltage level, be it 33kV or 132kV or even higher. Shree Cement had commissioned a cement grinding unit, for which JBVNL had released a high-tension connection with a contract demand of 14MVA at a voltage level of 132kV. The company intends to establish a captive solar power project of 1.99MW under the net metering regulations of JSERC.

In its submission, Shree Cement said that the proposed 1.99MW solar captive power project would generate a voltage level of 480V that would be further stepped up to 11kV. The generation at 11kV would then be connected to the cement plant's 11kV bus, and the 11kV bus will be connected with a 132kV JBVNL system through the existing 11/132 kV, 25MVA step-up power transformer.