Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir government announced on Saturday that the gas turbine in Pampore is undergoing decommissioning, with its over 56-acre land being utilised to establish the largest utility-scale solar power plant in the Union Territory.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also serves as the minister in charge of power, provided this information in a written response to an unstarred question from National Conference (NC) legislator Hasnain Masoodi in the Legislative Assembly.
“The total land area under Gas Turbine Phase-I (3×25 = 75 MW) and Phase-II (4×25 = 100 MW) is 56.287 acres. The facility has remained idle without any power generation since 2010, except for a brief operational period of one unit in 2012,” Abdullah said.
He stated that after a thorough evaluation of the plant’s condition, along with economic and environmental considerations, the decision was taken to decommission the gas turbine.
“The decommissioning process, in accordance with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) Guidelines for the retirement, up-rating, or de-rating of conventional generating units, has already begun and is expected to conclude soon,” the chief minister said. He added that after fulfilling all conditions, a formal request will be made to the CEA to remove GT-Pampore from the list of conventional generating units.
Explaining the reasons for its decommissioning, Abdullah said the plant had been defunct since 2012, with its machinery remaining non-operational for an extended period, making it irreparable.
“It cannot be operated in its present condition, and the revival of the gas turbine would have significant financial implications. Gas turbines incur a very high generation cost, around Rs 30 per unit, making the generated power unsaleable,” he said.
Abdullah highlighted that there is a nationwide push towards renewable energy.
“The vacant land of the project has been found suitable and has been proposed for the development of a solar power plant with a 10 MW capacity,” he said. He clarified that the plan is to utilise the area under the gas turbine for the solar power plant development, which is not a solar park, as those are usually for larger-scale developments. The project is to be implemented by the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (JKSPDC).
He mentioned that the project would involve the phased development of a 10-MW grid-connected agro-solar power plant (SPP), with 5 MW to be developed in the first phase on approximately 200 kanals (25 acres) of vacant land at GT-Pampore.
The JKSPDC has appointed the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) as the project implementation agency for the turnkey implementation of the project. Upon completion, it will become the largest utility-scale solar power plant in Jammu and Kashmir.
Abdullah said that the tendering process initiated by SECI is at an advanced stage, and construction of the project is likely to commence by the end of the year.
He clarified that the plant being developed is a grid-tied power plant, meaning it is designed to connect to the main electric grid and cannot operate independently.
“As such, there is no specific provision to allocate a percentage of the power generated to the inhabitants of Pampore town. However, the power generated by this plant will contribute to enhancing the overall generation capacity of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
In response to a separate starred question from NC legislator Mubarak Gul, Abdullah stated that Jammu and Kashmir had an estimated solar potential of 111 GW, most of which lies in the Ladakh region, which was carved out as a separate Union Territory following the bifurcation of the erstwhile state in August 2019.
“Mega-size solar power projects, being land-intensive, have not been developed in Jammu and Kashmir to date, as identifying feasible land banks (500 acres for a 100-MW solar park) at single locations is difficult due to the topography of the Union Territory,” he said.
However, he mentioned that a cumulative capacity of 75 MW of rooftop solar power plants has been installed across all sectors in Jammu and Kashmir under various schemes and projects, mostly sponsored by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
The individual capacities of these rooftop plants range from 2 kWp to 200 kWp. He added that currently, these plants are being installed on residential households by DISCOMs of the Union Territory under the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.
