India floats first tender to build 7.5-Gw solar power projects in Kashmir

India issued a tender on Tuesday to build 7.5-gigawatt of solar power projects in the insurgency-hit state of Jammu and Kashmir, state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India said on its website.

The request is part of a larger plan to build 23 gigawatts of solar capacity in Ladakh, a region in the country’s extreme north bordering China. The capacity is offered in three tranches of 2.5 gigawatts each to be located in Kargil town and rest in Leh district.

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.

SECI will sign a 35-year power purchase agreement with the project developers, who will get a maximum 54 months to get the project running. The tender is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of building 100 gigawatts of solar capacity in the country by 2022.