Hamirpur (HP), Jul 9 :The Pekhubela Solar Power project with a capacity of 32 MW is scheduled to be completed by December this year, announced Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.Making this announcement in a meeting with officers of the power board here last night (on Saturday), he emphasised the need to expedite ongoing power projects in the state.Reviewing the progress, the Chief Minister stressed that delays in these projects result in financial losses for the state, therefore the Energy department must ensure timely completion of these projects.During the meeting, the Chief Minister said that the state aims to commission 628 MW of hydroelectric projects by March 2027.This includes the completion of 450 MW Shongtong Karcham project by July 2025, the 48 MW Chanju-3 hydroelectric project by March 2027 and the 130 MW Kashang-2 and 3 projects by June 2026, he informed.Additionally, the state has set targets to finish the 30 MW Deothal Chanju project by December 2027, the 40 MW Renuka Ji Hydroelectric Project by December 2028 and the 190 MW Thana Plaun project by March 2029, he said.Sukhu also highlighted the state government’s emphasis on harnessing solar energy, saying that the state government has set a target to generate 1000 MW of solar energy by 2030.

To achieve this goal, the state has proposed 17 different projects that would generate 200 MW of solar power in the first phase, he informed.The Chief Minister directed the officials to expedite all these projects to ensure that the people of the state can reap their benefits.Chief Parliamentary secretary, Sunder Singh Thakur, MLAs Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Ashish Sharma and Suresh Kumar, director Energy, Harikesh Meena, deputy commissioner, Hemraj Bairwa, SP Aakriti Sharma and other dignitaries were also present at the meeting.(UNI)