India will exclude renewable power companies from government contracts for between three and five years if they do not meet project completion deadlines, a government order seen by Reuters shows, as the country looks to speed up green power projects.

“If any renewable energy project is not completed by the prescribed date of completion, then its bank guarantee should be encashed and the developer blacklisted after asking to show cause,” the order issued by the new and renewable energy ministry said.

The blacklisting will be for a period of three to five years, the order issued on Wednesday said.

So far India has not blacklisted any company from renewable energy generation contracts for delays, but the government order said the blacklisting was in accordance with the government’s General Financial Rules and would apply to all tenders.

India needs to install more than 40 gigawatts of capacity annually — about 2.5 times the rate of addition in 2022 — to achieve its commitment to increase its non-fossil fuel capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030.

Renewable energy installations have been hit by disruptions in equipment supply in recent months, due to heavy import duties on solar gear.

Ambuja Cements

Ambuja Cements, a part of Adani Cement, on Thursday said it has been declared as the ‘preferred bidder’ for the Uskalvagu limestone block in Odisha. An e-auction was conducted by the Odisha government for the block, situated in Malkangiri district.

The Adani Group firm has not disclosed the bid amount for the block but said it is spread over an area of 547 hectare with estimated limestone resource of about 141mt.