Jammu and Kashmir government will install 200 MW of grid-tied rooftop solar power plants under the “Solar City Mission”. Under this project, grid-tied rooftop solar power plants will be set up on 50,000 residential buildings in Jammu city by the Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) under its ‘Solar City Mission’.
Through this project, J&K will have generation of nearly 280 million units of energy annually, with a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions, besides reaping gains from savings on account of inter-state transmission losses to the tune of 224 million units.
Moreover, this project will help in generating various job opportunities for the youth. It has been estimated that 1 MW rooftop solar PV project generates a total of 40 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs over the 25 years expected lifetime of the project, which includes highly skilled personnel for business development, design, sales, procurement, and project management; one-time jobs for construction and installation of the rooftop PV system; and unskilled resources required annually for cleaning activity of the plant. Nearly, 8000 jobs will be created through the project.
The generation of solar energy through the Rooftop Solar Programme will also help the energy-deficit in J&K in supplementing its energy needs. The Rooftop Solar Programme will provide subsidized installation of solar power panels on residential houses at the cost of Rs. 58,739, Rs. 53,995, Rs. 52,594, and Rs. 51,309 for Category-A (Up to 1 kW), Category-B (> 1 kW to 2 kW), Category-C (> 2kW up to 3 kW), and Category-D (> 3 kW up to 10 kW), respectively.
The Central Sector Scheme provides a Central subsidy component of 40% of the project cost and a State subsidy component of 25% of the project cost for the installation of solar power panels, below 3 kW capacity, beyond which the Central subsidy component remains at 20%. The subsidy will be provided to the beneficiaries through the DBT mode.
Under this scheme, JAKEDA will provide regular quality supervision and certification of the quality of material to be installed; periodic monitoring of physical progress and third-party quality checks from MNRE approved test centres; provide free maintenance for a period of 5 years post installation; install bi-directional net-meters; and ensure project completion within the given timelines. The project will be completed by March, 2024 and will have a lifetime of 25 years.