The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, has entered into a memorandum of agreement with REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited (RECPDCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of REC Limited, for the implementation of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems across 76 ICAR institutes spanning 24 states and union territories. Under the agreement, rooftop solar PV systems with an aggregate capacity of 11,109.87 kW will be implemented on a turnkey basis. The projects are expected to generate approximately 17.3 million units of clean electricity annually, reducing dependence on conventional energy and promoting sustainable energy use across agricultural research infrastructure.
The projects will be funded by ICAR, with RECPDCL serving as the designated turnkey implementation partner. RECPDCL will undertake end-to-end implementation through its empanelled engineering, procurement and construction-cum-operation and maintenance (O&M) agencies. The scope covers design, engineering, supply, installation, testing and commissioning, followed by five years of comprehensive O&M. RECPDCL’s role in the initiative follows its designation by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy as the scheme implementation partner for government building solarisation under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.
In March 2026, RECPDCL issued a tender for the development of an intra-state transmission system to evacuate power from the proposed 2,000 MW pumped storage project at the Sharavathi complex in Karnataka. The project spans multiple locations, including Sharavathi, Guttu and Talaguppa.
