CHANDIGARH: With the objective of making Himachal Pradesh self-reliant in the energy sector, the state government has set a target to meet over 90 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable sources and transform Himachal Pradesh into a Green Energy State by March 2026.

As part of this initiative, 500 kW ground-mounted solar power projects will be installed in all panchayats across the state, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Shimla on Monday.

At present, the state’s annual energy consumption is around 13,000 million units. He said Himachal Pradesh has witnessed a massive shift towards solar energy due to the government’s green initiatives and has set a target of installing 500 MW of solar power projects over the next two years.

Under the ‘Green Panchayat Programme’, Gram Panchayats have been placed at the centre of the initiative, under which 500 kW ground-mounted solar power projects will be installed in all panchayats across the state. In the first phase, approval has been granted for setting up 500 kW solar power plants in 24 Gram Panchayats, with work already underway in 16 of them. Under this programme, a total solar power generation target of 150 MW has been set.

“Out of the total revenue generated from electricity produced by these projects, 20 per cent will be utilised by the state government to provide assistance to orphan children and widows of the respective Gram Panchayats,” Sukhu said.

The Chief Minister further said that the Pekhubela Solar Power Project in Una district commenced commercial operations on April 15 last year. So far, it has generated 79.03 million units of net electricity and earned revenue of Rs 22.91 crore.