Plain-English definitions of the terms you’ll meet when planning a solar, wind or storage project in India. For how these fit together commercially, see Solar EPC vs Solar IPP or our FAQs.
- EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction)
- A turnkey contract model where one company designs the plant, procures all equipment and builds it through to commissioning. The client owns the finished plant.
- IPP (Independent Power Producer)
- A company that finances, builds, owns and operates power plants and sells the electricity to consumers or utilities rather than the consumer owning the plant.
- PPA (Power Purchase Agreement)
- A long-term contract fixing the tariff and terms at which a power producer supplies electricity to a buyer, typically for 10–25 years.
- BESS (Battery Energy Storage System)
- A system that stores electricity in batteries and releases it on demand, used to firm up variable solar and wind generation.
- CUF (Capacity Utilisation Factor)
- The ratio of actual energy generated by a plant to the maximum it could generate at full rated capacity, expressed as a percentage.
- DISCOM
- A power distribution company that buys electricity in bulk and distributes it to end consumers in its licensed area.
- Net Metering
- A billing mechanism where surplus solar power exported to the grid is credited against the electricity you import.
- Open Access
- A framework allowing consumers (typically above 1 MW demand) to buy power directly from generators other than their local DISCOM, using the grid for delivery.
- Group Captive
- An arrangement where consumers jointly hold at least 26% equity in a power plant and consume at least 51% of its generation, qualifying for captive-power benefits.
- kWp / MWp (Kilowatt/Megawatt peak)
- The rated DC output of a solar system under standard test conditions — the standard way solar plant capacity is quoted.
- Solar Irradiance
- The solar power received per unit area (W/m²); a site’s irradiance determines how much energy a solar plant there can generate.
- Solar Inverter
- The device that converts DC electricity produced by solar panels into AC electricity usable by equipment and the grid.
- O&M (Operations & Maintenance)
- The ongoing services — cleaning, inspections, repairs, monitoring — that keep a power plant generating at its best over its 25-year life.
- Wind-Solar Hybrid
- A power project combining wind turbines and solar PV at one site, sharing land and grid infrastructure for steadier combined output.
- Green Hydrogen
- Hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity, resulting in near-zero carbon emissions.
- Electrolyser
- The equipment that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity — the core of green hydrogen production.
- FDRE (Firm & Dispatchable Renewable Energy)
- Renewable power supply backed by storage or hybridisation so it can be delivered on demand like conventional power.
- LCOE (Levelised Cost of Energy)
- The average cost per unit of electricity over a plant’s lifetime, combining capital, operating and financing costs — used to compare generation technologies.
- RTC (Round-The-Clock) Power
- Renewable supply structured (usually wind + solar + storage) to deliver power continuously, 24×7.
- Captive Power Plant
- A plant set up primarily for the owner’s own electricity consumption rather than for sale to others.
- Rooftop Solar
- Solar PV systems installed on building rooftops — typically 10 kWp to a few MWp for commercial and industrial consumers.
- Ground-Mounted Solar
- Utility-scale solar installed on land, from a few MW to hundreds of MW.
- ALMM
- The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers — India’s official list of solar modules eligible for use in government-backed projects.
- RPO (Renewable Purchase Obligation)
- The legal obligation on DISCOMs and large consumers to source a minimum share of their electricity from renewable sources.
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