Gujarat's draft green hydrogen policy to be ready in 2 months

The government of Gujarat is currently in the process of formulating a new policy for green hydrogen manufacturing. The guidelines of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change and other relevant ministries will be followed while finalising the Policy, said.

“Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) is in the process of formulating a draft green hydrogen policy to promote and facilitate development of green hydrogen projects. We had a one-to-one meeting with stakeholders from 16 May to 24 May 2023,” the press release quoted a senior GUVNL officer.

The release said that about Rs 10 lakh crore worth of investments are expected in the state in this sector. “Major Indian conglomerates like Reliance and Adani have pledged investment worth over Rs 10 lakh crore in this sector by signing MoUs with the government worth Rs 5.6 lakh crore and Rs 4.13 lakh crore, respectively. Three million tonnes of green hydrogen will be produced through this annually,” it added.

Other companies such as ArcelorMittal and Torrent have also signed MoUs for investments in green energy projects. Gujarat also released its land policy for green hydrogen manufacturers recently. It announced several incentives, in accordance with its Land Allotment Policy. The companies must meet 50 per cent of their green hydrogen production capacity within five years of commissioning their plants and 100 per cent within eight years.

The release added that an area of 1.99 lakh hectares of land has been allotted by the state government on the Kutch-Banaskantha border. Interested companies will be provided with land on a 40-year lease, during the initial period. It said that land has been allotted to a number of companies like Reliance, Adani, Torrent and ArcelorMittal for the same.

Considering 3 MTPA target of green hydrogen as envisaged in Land Policy-2023 of Gujarat, the renewable energy requirement of the state would increase by 165 billion units. The state’s total power requirement is 120 billion units during FY23.