The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has been forced to shift the proposed location of the 5 gigawatt solar PV park following objections from the wildlife department of Ladakh.
The solar power park is part of the 7.5 gigawatt solar power development in the union territory of Ladakh, which includes a 2.5 gigawatt solar park in the district of Kargil.
The local wildlife department, noted that the location is a breeding ground for several protected species and SECI must look to relocate the project. The new proposed site is also located along a national highway, however, that road is blocked for six to eight months in a year during to heavy snowfall.
The union territory of Ladakh does not have any major utility-scale solar power projects even though it has among the highest solar irradiation resource in India.
The government is also planning to set up long-distance transmission lines from these solar power parks to feed the power demand of a number of large states located in the northern part of the country.
This relocation may very likely raise new questions in the minds of project developers regarding the timely implementation as well as the viability of the project itself.
Reference- Clean Technica