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					</table>The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MNRE</a>) recent <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-allows-four-month-extension-for-renewable-projects-hit-by-west-asia-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advisory</a> for renewable energy projects offers some relief to developers grappling with equipment supply, logistics, and construction disruptions arising from the prolonged West Asia crisis.
The advisory allows Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies and procuring entities to consider granting force majeure-based extensions of up to four months to eligible projects affected by the West Asia conflict. Developers and contractors may receive two to four months to comply with contractual obligations where the Scheduled Commissioning Date or Scheduled Commencement of Supply Date falls on or after February 28, 2026.
This relief is subject to applicable force majeure provisions, and developers must establish that the delays are directly attributable to disruptions arising from the West Asia situation.
Dilip Mehta, Director, Technical Services at <a href="https://www.hexaclimate.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hexa Climate</a>, said the West Asia war has affected the availability of transport fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), disrupting galvanization activities and the supply of steel and equipment for projects.
“Due to the conflict, crude oil prices suddenly spiked to $118 per barrel, which in turn increased the prices of all crude derivatives used in projects. Cable costs shot up disproportionately. Migrant workers had a hard time finding cooking gas at construction sites and had to leave,” he said.
The conflict also drove up freight rates in international shipping markets. According to industry stakeholders, container rates on West Asia trades increased by 30% to 40%, carriers added war risk surcharges, and vessels were repositioned.
The impact of the West Asia crisis can be gauged by the fact that recently <a href="https://www.grinfra.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">G R Infraprojects</a> issued a notice to terminate, with immediate effect, its engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) agreements with NTPC to implement a battery energy storage system at NTPC’s Mouda Super Thermal Power Station. The company attributed the termination to continuing force majeure and war-risk circumstances, along with contractual issues arising from the agreement provisions.
A leading developer said the extension could help renewable projects facing delays in equipment supply, logistics, construction, or other activities directly affected by the disruption.
“Additional time without penalties can reduce the risk of liquidated damages and contractual disputes and provide developers greater flexibility to complete projects without absorbing costs linked to accelerated execution. This is particularly relevant for projects with tight commissioning schedules, where short delays can affect power purchase agreement (PPA) obligations, financing timelines, and transmission arrangements,” he added.
Too Little, Too Late?
Industry stakeholders, however, say the two-to-four-month relief may not fully reflect the duration of supply-chain disruptions affecting some projects.
Vatsal Kundalia, Managing Director at <a href="https://www.advaitgreenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advait Greenergy</a>, said imported electrical equipment used in projects, including transformers, HT/LT switchgear, PCC panels, and PDB panels, has seen lead times increase from five to six months to 10 to 12 months or more.
“This has been accompanied by higher freight and marine insurance costs. Because these imports are dollar-denominated and the rupee has depreciated over the same period, landed costs have risen, further squeezing margins on projects that were already committed at fixed tariffs,” he said.
The shorter extension window may also be insufficient to address financing-related delays. Projects still working toward financial closure need enough runway for lenders to re-underwrite revised project costs and schedules. A two- to four-month window may be too short for this process,  Kundalia added.
“The disruption began at the end of February. The advisory came on August 21, 2026. Developers carried that risk for nearly six months while the file moved. For a project mid-procurement in February, four months is about right. For one that had to re-tender a supply package because a vendor walked, it is not. Six months would cover the real spread,” Mehta said.
Little Room to Pass on Costs
The extension addresses project timelines but does not, by itself, compensate developers for higher costs resulting from the disruption.
Lenders typically structure debt and disbursements around predetermined project costs and commissioning dates. When costs rise and deliveries are delayed, project economics and schedules may need reassessment.
For projects contracted at fixed tariffs before the cost escalation, developers may have limited ability to pass these expenses on to offtakers, leaving the additional expenditure to be absorbed through project margins.
Projects that have not achieved financial closure face an additional challenge, as lenders may need to reassess project costs, schedules, and financing assumptions before committing capital.
Establishing Force Majeure
Another potential challenge is establishing that a project delay is directly attributable to the West Asia crisis, as required under the MNRE advisory.
Project delays can result from several overlapping factors, including financing, land acquisition, statutory approvals, engineering changes, and supply chain constraints. Separating the impact of geopolitical disruptions from other project-specific delays can be difficult.
Industry stakeholders noted that overseas suppliers, particularly smaller vendors further down the supply chain, may not always issue formal force majeure certificates. They suggested that procuring agencies could accept a combination of supplier correspondence and shipping documentation to substantiate genuine claims where formal certificates are not available.
Mehta noted that the advisory does not amend a PPA. He pointed out that the advisory permits implementing agencies to consider granting relief but does not require them to approve an extension.
The words are ‘may consider.’ “So, the developer files under its own force majeure clause and waits, while bank guarantees sit encashable. MNRE should give agencies a defined window, say forty-five days, to decide a claim. Relief that arrives after the guarantee is called is not relief,” he added.
Conditional Protection
The extent to which the advisory may shield developers from liquidated damages and other contractual consequences will ultimately depend on individual contracts.
Kundalia noted that some existing PPAs, EPC contracts, and equipment supply agreements may contain narrower force majeure definitions that do not clearly cover indirect overseas disruptions that result in longer import lead times or higher costs.
Industry experts suggest that relief should recognize extended import lead times and conflict-related cost escalation, with equivalent relief flowing through the contracting chain to EPC contractors, original equipment manufacturers, and suppliers.
Looking Ahead
Kundalia said the advisory could be more effective if accompanied by a mechanism allowing developers to seek recognition of cost escalation directly attributable to the disruption where government entities are the procuring agencies. Without such a mechanism, extending project schedules leaves developers bearing the additional costs.
In the first half of 2026, the renewable energy sector’s capex increased by roughly 20%, with the West Asia conflict contributing to the increase, Mehta said.
Mehta said force majeure may excuse delayed performance but does not compensate developers for the resulting costs. He also noted that a foreign conflict would not ordinarily qualify as a change-in-law event, leaving developers exposed to the financial impact.
“Two things would help. Treat war risk premia as a pass-through, the way any other statutory cost movement is treated. And, let the extended commissioning date carry Interstate Transmission System waiver eligibility, so a project is not penalized twice for one delay.”
The MNRE advisory could give developers more time to manage conflict-related delays and reduce the immediate risk of contractual penalties for eligible projects. However, it does not resolve the higher equipment, freight, insurance, financing, and other costs generated by those disruptions.
Industry stakeholders view the advisory as an important first step, not a complete solution. They argue that a longer relief window for severely affected projects, clearer documentary requirements, defined timelines for deciding claims, and mechanisms to address conflict-related cost escalation would make the relief more effective.

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					</table><a href="https://www.advaitgreenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advait Greenergy</a>, a subsidiary of <a href="https://www.advaitgroup.co.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advait Energy Transitions</a>, has inaugurated a 30 MW alkaline electrolyzer assembly facility in Mehsana, Gujarat.
The facility has been designed as a scalable manufacturing platform and can be expanded from its initial 30 MW of electrolyzer manufacturing capacity to 100 MW by 2027. The company aims to eventually expand the facility’s annual electrolyzer manufacturing capacity to 1 GW.
The facility’s phased expansion is aimed at supporting expected growth in green hydrogen demand across industrial sectors such as fertilizers, refining, steel manufacturing, and heavy transport.
Advait Greenergy was selected under the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) Production Linked Incentive program for 300 MW electrolyzer manufacturing capacity, along with participation in a 100 MW green hydrogen project component.
The company has over 400 MWh of battery energy storage projects under construction. It is also setting up a 2.5 GWh battery storage manufacturing facility, which is expected to be commissioned in 2026.
In August 2024, Advait Energy Transitions, then Advait Infratech, was among the <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/adani-waaree-matrix-seci-electrolyzer-auction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">winners</a> of SECI’s auction to set up 1.5 GW of electrolyzer manufacturing capacities across India. The company secured 200 MW under the Bucket 1 category.
In the same year, Advait was among the <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/reliance-jindal-adani-win-seci-electrolyzer-auction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">winners</a> of SECI’s auction to set up 1.5 GW of electrolyzer manufacturing capacities across India. The company secured 100 MW with an incentive allocation of ₹1.48 billion (~$17.87 million).
The Union Cabinet <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cabinet-approves-%E2%82%B9197-billion-hydrogen-mission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> the National Green Hydrogen Mission in 2023 to facilitate demand creation, production, utilization, and export of green hydrogen with an initial outlay of ₹197.44 billion (~$2.3 billion). The largest portion of the funding, ₹174.9 billion (~$2.1 billion), is earmarked for the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) program.
Under the SIGHT program, separate financial incentives for the domestic manufacturing of electrolyzers and the production of green hydrogen would be provided, the government said in a statement.
The mission seeks to promote the development of green hydrogen production capacity of 5 million tons per year with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country by 2030. To achieve this, 60 GW to 100 GW of electrolyzer capacity will be installed.

Advait Inaugurates 30 MW Alkaline Electrolyzer Assembly Facility in Gujarat

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