India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is working out a bid to offer 25 GW of solar power capacity in Ladakh at one go. MNRE head RK Singh has said the mountainous region has potential for 35 GW of solar. The idea is to come out with a single bid of 25 GW with storage and deliverables in Una district of Himachal Pradesh.
Local news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Singh shared his ideas while speaking at a Government and Business Partnership Conclave organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).
At the end of March 2018, India had a total installed PV capacity of 21.6 GW, according to MNRE records (see India Touches 21.6 GW Cumulative PV Capacity). A single bid worth 25 GW for a single region with difficult terrains and high-altitude seems very ambitious, too put it mildly.
Yet in the recent past, the government has launched big tender capacities in an effort to speed up its journey to achieving 100 GW of solar power capacity by 2022, especially since its 40 GW rooftop PV segment is not really taking off despite various attempts. India's overall renewable energy target is 175 GW by 2022. However, MNRE Secretary Anand Kumar recently announced the country's plan to bid out 30 GW of PV annually till 2028 for 350 GW of installed capacity of solar by 2030 (see India To Bid 30 GW PV Annually Until 2028).
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