As a part of its ambitious plan to build 23-gigawatt (GW) solar power projects in Ladakh, the state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) issued tenders for onstruction of 7.5-GW projects in phase-I in the region. The tender, a 2.5-GW project would be built in Kargil while a 5-GW project would be started in Leh. The solar power developers will set up the projects, including the transmission network up to the interconnection point, at their own cost, according to the tender document.

The SECI will sign a 35-year power purchase agreement with the project developers, who will get a maximum of 54 months to get the project running. Pertinently, J&K has solar power potential of 111.05 GW and it is the second highest in the country after Rajasthan which has the solar energy potential of 142 GW. The Union government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission has already sanctioned two major projects with the total solar power generation capacity of 7,500 megawatt for the Ladakh region, which is known as solar capital of the country.