Indian sugar mills have significant potential for rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar power generation which depends on the size, shading, direction and location of the plant. Indian sugar mills have a crushing duration of 140 to 160 days and 200 - 220 days of offseason. The sugar mills consume substantial power from the State Electricity Distribution Board for maintenance, administrative offices, colony, water supply schemes, etc. during the off-season. The captive power consumption of sugar mills in the off-season is 200 to 300 kW @ tariff of Rs. 8 -10 per kWh. The sugar mill has ample space for the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roof of the sugar warehouses, administrative buildings, material stores, parking sheds, and guest house buildings. The power generated by hybrid projects i.e. PV solar and cogeneration projects during season operation can be utilized for captive load and surplus power can be exported to the electricity grid. The power generated during the off-season by PV solar system can meet the captive load requirement. In response to the petition of the Cogeneration Association of India (CAI) (Petitioner) - Case no. 129 of 2021 for seeking clarification and /or amendments in the MERC (Grid Interactive Rooftop Renewable Energy Generating Systems) Regulations 2019, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulation Commission passed an order dated 11th January 2022 allowing sugar mills to consume electricity generated from hybrid projects for its captive load and sale of surplus electricity to MSEDCL. The sugar mills in Maharashtra can adopt a hybrid concept for additional revenue generation and economic stability. In this paper, a brief summary of hybrid projects (cogen + PV solar) is emphasized to implement hybrid solar PV power projects in sugar mills in addition to the existing cogeneration projects.
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