The Government of India(GoI) has said that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment(ESIA) and Detailed Project Report(DPR) for the proposed 13 GW renewable energy projects in Ladakh have been completed. Incidentally,1 GW is equal to 1,000 MW. That means this project in Ladakh will be able to produce 13,000 MW of power, which is almost equal to the entire hydel power potential identified on the Chenab river.
Replying to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy and Power, Shripad Yesso Naik, said on April 1, Wednesday that the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) is the implementing agency for these projects. The SECI has already set up a pilot project in an identified area which is the nucleus of this mega clean energy project.
The Minister said the ESIA reports have been shared with the Union Territory(UT) administration of Ladakh and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council(LAHDC) for review. The projects are being executed under the Renewable Energy Service Company(RESCO)/developer mode. At present, the tenure of LAHDC Leh has lapsed and there are no councillors in place to take a decision one way or the other regarding the projects or to deliberate on the said ESIA reports.
The Minister further said that key studies, including aerial drone/UAV-based topographic surveys, soil investigations and resource assessment studies, have also been completed. He, however, clarified that these studies, which include data on wildlife surveys, land use maps, grazing assessments, hydrology baselines and topographical details, are currently not available in the public domain.
“The dissemination of such information is governed by considerations of project confidentiality, competitive bidding processes and data sensitivity”, the Minister said, adding that relevant information is shared with prospective bidders during the tendering process to facilitate informed decision-making.
It is a dream project that the GoI wants to execute in the Leh district of Ladakh and there will be two components of this project. The energy mix as envisaged is generation of 9 GW of power through solar panels and 4 GW of wind energy. It is a project that may take years for completion and change the area beyond recognition in a way.
The LAHDC Leh had signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the SECI and agreed to transfer 48,000 acres of land for setting up the solar plant. Once the generation happens, there will be the requirement of evacuation of this power to plains where the population is concentrated. As such, a 713 km long power transmission line is proposed to be set up between Pang(in Leh) and Kaithal in Haryana. So far, progress on this mega power project has faced many challenges, the harsh weather of Ladakh being the first and foremost as it makes any construction very difficult.
Besides, the local nomadic herders who rear goats that produce the valuable pashmina are not favourably inclined towards the project. However, they have been assured that a project of this size will lead to creation of many jobs. Besides creation of infrastructure like schools, guest houses and hospitals, the locals will be given priority in job hiring, according to officials. The project is a part of the Phase II of the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) and intially the project envisaged 7.5 GW power production. The announcement of the 7.5 GW power project was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2020, in his Lal Qila address to the nation.
The Central Cabinet had, on October 18, 2023, given the necessary approval for the Inter-State Transmission System(ISTS) for the project. At that time, it was estimated to be completed by the financial year 2029-30 with a total cost Rs.20,773.70 crore. Of this total amount, over Rs 8,000 crore(40 per cent) are to be given by the Central government with Power Grid Corporation Limited(PGCL) mobilising the rest of 60 per cent.
The Bhadla Solar Park located in Phalodid district of Rajasthan is the biggest solar park in India. However, if and when completed, the solar park in Ladakh will become the largest such park. At the Bhadla solar park, dust accumulation of the solar panels has been identified as a major challenge. However, in the Ladakh park, this problem is expected to be less challenging.
