J&K LG approves installation of 200 MWp of Grid-Tied Rooftop Solar Power Plants under the “Solar City Mission”
Under the “Solar City Mission” of Jammu, the Administrative Council (AC) met under the chairmanship of LG, Mr. Manoj Sinha, approved the installation of 200MWp of grid-tied rooftop solar power plants. Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, and Mr. Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the LG, attended the meeting in Srinagar.
The decision has been taken to implement the Government of India’s Grid-Connected Rooftop Solar Scheme, Phase-II for the residential sector in J&K, to ensure that the electricity needs of the city, get fulfilled from solar energy.
Under this project, rooftop solar power plants will be installed on 50,000 residential buildings in Jammu city by the Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) under its “Solar City Mission” at an estimated cost of Rs 1040 crore. The project is expected to be completed by March 2024 and will have a lifespan of 25 years.
There will be a subsidized installation of solar power panels on residential houses at cost of Rs. 58,739, Rs. 53,995, Rs. 52,594 & 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 provided under this Programme.
The Central Sector Scheme provides a Central subsidy component of 40% of the project cost and the 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%. Beneficiaries will avail of the subsidy through the DBT mode.
These solar power plants will be of the grid-tied type and will get connected to the grid on a net metering basis. The investments made by the beneficiaries will be recovered at a rate of 25% annually on account of saving energy, with a payback period of approximately 4 years.
Jammu and Kashmir, with the implementation of this project, will benefit from the generation of approximately 280 million units of energy annually, with a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions of approx. 5.44 million tons, besides reaping gains from savings on account of inter-state transmission losses to the tune of 224 million units.
The renewable energy generated through the Rooftop Solar Programme will also help the energy-deficit UT of J&K in supplementing its energy needs while assisting the DISCOMs in achieving the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) Targets of 10.5% as fixed by the Government of India. Apart from this the employment opportunities also will be created by this project for local youth.
Based on employment estimates, it is calculated that the 1 MWp rooftop solar PV project generates a total of 40 full-time equivalents (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.
Multiple additional job roles are also getting created by solar PV grid-connected projects in secondary and tertiary roles, like manufacturing and supply of system equipment such as inverters, structures, cables, etc. As per estimation, around 8000 jobs can get generated through the project.
The scheme mandates implementing agency, viz. JAKEDA to 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 centers; provide free maintenance for 5 years post-installation; install bi-directional net-meters, and ensure project completion within the given timelines.
Meanwhile, The Administrative Council approved the adoption of Schedule of Rates (SoR)- 2022 for Engineering Departments in Jammu and Kashmir.
The AC also approved the introduction of the Schedule of Rates (SoR-2022) for Civil Works in all engineering branches of the Public Works Department, Government Departments, Public Sector Enterprises, and Government Organizations associated with civil works in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The J&K Schedule of Rates (SoR) is a main document for all Engineering Departments which provides basic inputs for cost estimation, tender evaluation, and contract fixation. It contains the schedule of various works and provides the respective unit rate of payment for the performance of that service.
Further, the Schedule of Rates – 2022, incorporates an assessment of machinery and equipment tools and plants and prefabricated building components, wherever applicable. It got prepared by DIQC. Furthermore, the Administrative Council directed the institutionalization of the regular revision of various components of SoR in consideration of the rise/fall in price indices.
The revision of rate contracts through the SoR-2022 document got necessitated on account of the increased cost of labor and materials (cement, steel, bitumen, GI pipes, etc.) and the introduction of new construction materials/mechanized construction techniques.
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Resource: Daily Excelsior
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