The Administrative Council (AC) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has approved the installation of 200 MW of grid-tied rooftop solar systems on 50,000 residential buildings in Jammu under the Solar City Mission program.

The council met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

The Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) will install the rooftop solar plants at an estimated cost of ₹10.4 billion (~$132.12 million). The project is scheduled for completion by March 2024.

The agency will provide regular supervision and certification of the quality of material used in the system. It will periodically monitor physical progress and conduct third-party quality checks by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) approved test centers. It would provide free maintenance for five years post-installation, install bi-directional net meters, and ensure project completion within the given timelines.

The subsidy for the installation of the rooftop solar systems has been segregated into four categories: Category A comprises an installation cost of ₹58,739 (~$751) for up to 1 kW; Category B includes an installation cost of ₹53,995 (~$691) for rooftop > 1 kW to 2 kW; Category C details installation cost of ₹52,594 (~$673) for rooftop > 2 kW up to 3 kW, and Category D comprises installation cost of ₹51,309 (~$656) for rooftop > 3 kW up to 10 kW.

The council said that the rooftop installations in Jammu would be provided with direct benefit transfer (DBT) under the central subsidy program. Central financial assistance of 40% and a state subsidy of 25% will be provided for rooftop solar systems below the capacity of 3 kW. So, the effective cost of a 1 kW rooftop solar system with central and state subsidies would be ₹20,559 (~$258).

Rooftop solar systems installed under the program will generate around 280 million units of energy annually and help J&K mitigate approximately 5.44 million tons of carbon emissions. The state will also save on inter-state transmission (ISTS) losses of about 224 million units.

The project will aid the distribution companies (DISCOMs) in the state achieve their renewable purchase obligation (RPO) target of 10.5%.

The council said 8,000 new jobs would be created through the project. It said that a 1 MW rooftop solar project yields 40 full-time equivalent jobs during the project’s entire lifecycle of 25 years.

In November 2021, the Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency floated a tender to install 12 MW grid-connected rooftop solar projects under the capital expenditure model on government buildings.

In March this year, Solar Energy Corporation of India invited bids for the design, engineering, construction, erection, testing, and commissioning of a 5 MW grid-connected saffron-based agro solar power project in the Pulwama district of Jammu & Kashmir. The saffron-based agro solar project is a first-of-its-kind project where the land for the solar project will also be used to cultivate saffron.