Set out below are some of the major recent developments in the clean energy sector in India:

1. Green Hydrogen

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India ("MNRE") on July 23, 2026, issued a model service agreement (a facilitative reference document) for 'Electrolyser as a Service' in furtherance to the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The model is intended to reduce the consumer's upfront capital expenditure and facilitate contracting between electrolyser service providers and consumers. Some of its key features are:

• the service provider would design, finance, install, own, operate and maintain an electrolytic hydrogen generation plant at the consumer's premises on a build-own-operate basis and supply hydrogen and oxygen to the consumer;
• the consumer would provide the site, access and required utilities and obtain the relevant statutory approvals and green hydrogen certification, with technical and operational support from the service provider;
• the consumer would pay a fixed monthly consideration, with provisions for annual escalation and adjustments based on plant availability and performance; and
• the service provider would be required to satisfy agreed performance parameters relating to production volume, purity, availability and threshold energy consumption, with corresponding incentives or penalties for energy efficiency.

2. Solar and Wind Power, and Battery Storage

3. Electricity Rules, Regulations and Orders

1. On August 14, 2026, the Department of Atomic Energy issued the draft Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Rules, 2026, and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board released the draft Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Regulations, 2026, for stakeholder comments. These draft rules and regulations have been issued to operationalise the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025.
2. The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Government of India on April 29, 2026 issued an office memorandum stating that the ongoing situation in West Asia be treated as a 'war' entitling parties to invoke the force majeure clause in Central Government procurement contracts affected by the ongoing situation in West Asia.
   Where the disruptions in West Asia directly affect performance of a Government agency's contract for goods, services or works, the procuring entity may, after examining the facts of the case, extend (by 2 to 4 months), without cost or penalty, on a case-by-case basis contractual obligations falling due on or after February 28, 2026. The relief would be available only where the relevant party was not already in default as on February 27, 2026.
3. In this context, on August 21, 2026, MNRE advised REIAs , including SECI, NTPC, NHPC and SJVN, and the relevant State and Union Territory authorities to consider granting extensions of up to 4 months to the 'scheduled commencement of supply date' or 'scheduled commissioning date' of renewable energy projects affected by disruptions arising from the West Asia situation. The relief applies where the relevant date, including any previously extended date, falls on or after February 28, 2026, and is subject to the force majeure provisions and procedures under the relevant PPA. MNRE also requested MoP and Central Transmission Utility of India Limited ("CTUIL") to consider corresponding relief for GNA/ connectivity without penalty and continuation of applicable inter-State transmission system charge waivers or concessions during the extended period. The advisory does not provide an automatic blanket extension, and each claim is required to be assessed under the relevant contractual provisions.
4. MoP pursuant to its office memorandum dated April 6, 2026, advised States, Union Territories and procuring utilities to recognise insurance surety bonds, and other instruments permitted under the General Financial Rules, 2017, as acceptable alternatives to bank guarantees for bid security and performance security. States and procuring utilities were advised to incorporate suitable provisions for accepting these instruments in bidding documents across power procurement frameworks, including long-term, medium-term and short-term power procurement and BESS projects.
5. On April 1, 2026, CEA notified the CEA (Installation and Operation of Meters) Amendment Regulations, 2026, which inter alia mandated supply of electricity through smart meters conforming to the applicable Indian Standards, all advanced metering infrastructure are required to incorporate prepayment functionality and be interoperable in accordance with CEA guidelines.
6. The Supreme Court of India ("SC") pursuant to its judgment dated May 8, 2026 in the case of Indian Railways v. West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited & Ors. upheld the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity's ruling that Indian Railways is not a deemed distribution licensee under the Electricity Act, 2003 ("Electricity Act") and is liable to pay cross subsidy surcharge ("CSS") and additional surcharge when procuring electricity through open access.
   SC observed that a distribution licensee is required to operate and maintain a distribution system and supply electricity to consumers within a defined area of supply. Indian Railways' closed and self-contained electricity network, used exclusively for railway operations such as traction, signalling and stations, constitutes self-consumption and not the supply of electricity to consumers. The authority under Section 11 of the Railways Act, 1989 to maintain power supply and distribution installations neither confers deemed distribution licensee status on Indian Railways nor overrides the licensing framework under the Electricity Act.
7. CERC pursuant to its order dated May 31, 2026, in Datta Power Infra Private Limited v. CTUIL & Anr. considered a request to extend the financial closure and connectivity timelines for a 162 MW inter-State transmission system-connected wind-solar hybrid project. CERC observed that, extension for submission of financial closure documents may be allowed under and in accordance with the CERC (Connectivity and General Network Access to the Inter-State Transmission System) Regulations, 2022 ("GNA Regulations") in case of CTUIL itself unjustifiably delaying the final connectivity grant by substantial time.
8. The Karnataka High Court pursuant to its judgment dated June 12, 2026, in Distributed Solar Power Association v. Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission ("KERC") & Anr. quashed the KERC order dated March 28, 2025 prescribing the procedure for data collection, scrutiny and verification of captive status of generating plants and captive users in Karnataka. The challenge principally concerned Clause 6.7, which introduced a dynamic unitary qualifying ratio ("UQR") for assessing proportional consumption by group captive users. The Karnataka High Court in this case mainly upheld the SC decision in Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited v. Gayatri Shakti Paper and Board Limited.
   Relevantly, the Karnataka High Court directed KERC to reconsider the matter and frame an appropriate procedure consistent with Rule 3 of the Electricity Rules and SC's judgment, after following due consultation and the principles of natural justice. Until such reconsideration, no coercive action may be taken against the petitioners.
9. On July 8, 2026, CEA issued an advisory to distribution companies and electricity consumers on the safe and judicious use of electricity in view of the increased electrical load expected during El Niño conditions.
10. On August 14, 2026, CERC in Petition No. 5/SM/2026, finalised the procedure for granting additional time to achieve specified milestones under the GNA Regulations, upon payment of prescribed Milestone Extension Charges ("MEC"). Some of the key aspects of the order are:
    • an entity holding an in-principle or final grant of connectivity may apply to CTUIL at least 15 working days before the applicable deadline and demonstrate the prescribed progress of land procurement, contract execution etc.;
    • the land document deadline may be extended by up to 3 months at MEC of INR 1,000, INR 1,100 and INR 1,200 per MW per day for the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd months, respectively;
    • the financial closure deadline may be extended by up to 6 months at INR 1,000 per MW per day for the first 3 months, increasing to INR 1,100, INR 1,200 and INR 1,300 per MW per day for the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th months, respectively;
    • commercial operation date may be extended by up to 12 months at INR 3,000 per MW per day for the first 6 months, escalating to INR 3,300, INR 3,600 and INR 3,900 per MW per day for the 7^th to 9^th months and INR 6,000 per MW per day for the 10^th to 12^th months; and
    • MEC would generally be paid 15 days in advance. Any failure to pay the charges or achieve the relevant milestone within the extended period may result in revocation of connectivity and encashment of the applicable bank guarantees in accordance with the GNA Regulations. The extension does not alter the firm start date of connectivity, excuse applicable mismatch charges or modify the terms of the relevant PPA.

4. Environmental Initiatives

1. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, on July 3, 2026, issued revised guidelines governing right of way ("RoW") requirements for the construction of transmission lines in forest areas under the Van (Samrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980. The guidelines prescribe new regulations for transmission lines using new tower and conductor configurations and basically implement the revised standards prescribed under the CEA (Technical Standards for Construction of Electrical Plants and Electric Lines) Amendment Regulations, 2025 and follow the recommendations of the Advisory Committee made at its meeting held on June 10, 2026. The main premise of these new regulations is that the improved tower designs and advanced conductor technologies require smaller tower footprints and narrower corridors and thus may reduce RoW requirements in forest areas by up to 20%, thereby limiting tree felling and the impact on forest ecosystems.
2. The Town and Country Planning Department, Government of Haryana, on June 5, 2026 amended Chapter 6 of the Haryana Building Code, 2017 to mandate electric vehicle ("EV") charging infrastructure in new buildings and existing buildings undergoing renovation, in each case where parking for at least 10 cars is provided. Relevantly, developments having parking for at least 10 cars are required to provide: (i) at least 1 EV charging point for every 5 parking spaces in group housing, cooperative housing and other covered residential developments; and (ii) at least 1 charging point for every 3 parking spaces in shopping complexes, malls, hotels, offices and other covered non-residential buildings.
3. In July 2026, MoP issued draft amendments to the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards applicable to passenger vehicle manufacturers. The proposed framework provides that manufacturers outperforming their prescribed fleet average fuel-consumption targets would earn compliance credits, while those falling short would accumulate debits, measured in grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre. Manufacturers may also offset debits by purchasing credits from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency at INR 2,500 per gram of carbon dioxide per kilometre.