Why in news:

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has recently launched a plan for the implementation of 23 GW of ultra mega solar projects in Jammu and Kashmir region.
• In Phase-I of the project 2,500 MW Solar PV Capacity will be set up in Kargil region and 5,000 MW in Leh district.

Key Points:

• The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will be the implementing agency of these projects.
• The grid-connected solar PV projects are planned to be set up in the Pang region in Leh and in the Zangla region in Kargil.
• The 2,500 MW grid-connected solar PV project is tentatively planned to be in New Wanpoh region and the 5,000 MW grid-connected solar PV project is tentatively planned to be in Hisar.
• The project will also have to set up the grid-connected solar PV projects along with implementation of the entire power evacuation infrastructure (substations along with transmission lines), up to the drawl point.
• This will be India’s one of the largest tenders so far in terms of the capacity envisaged.
• Earlier, SECI had invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from prospective project developers to set up of 10 GW of floating solar PV projects in a phased manner in the next three years.
• Around the same time, SECI had also invited EoI from prospective manufacturers to set up an integrated solar manufacturing facility totaling 20 GW in India within a three-year time-frame.
• Both these mega tenders are yet to reached the auction stage.

Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd

• Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) is a company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India
• It was established to facilitate the implementation of the National Solar Mission (NSM).
•  It is the only Central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) dedicated to the solar energy sector.
• The company's mandate has been broadened to cover the entire renewable energy domain and the company will be renamed to Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI).
• The company is responsible for implementation of a number of government schemes, major ones being the VGF schemes for large-scale grid-connected projects under NSM, solar park scheme and grid-connected solar rooftop scheme, along with a host of other specialised schemes such as defence scheme, canal-top scheme, and Indo-Pak border scheme.
• In addition, SECI has ventured into solar project development on turnkey basis for several PSUs.
• The company also has a power-trading licence and is active in this domain through trading of solar power from projects set up under the schemes being implemented by it.