Our Take
It was wonderful to hear that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Ladakh Autonomous Hill District Council (LAHDC) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for setting up a 50 MW power plant. This will be the first such renewable energy power plant to be set up at Taru in Leh. Far more significant is the fact that this can pave way for setting up several other solar power plants, both in the government and the private sector. The Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh has the potential to produce as much as 33 GW of renewable energy. Out of this, the potential for solar power production alone has been estimated at 26 GW. Theoretically, the UT becoming a carbon neutral geographical region is a a target within reach now. It is likely to create new job opportunities for the locals and that will be an added advantage of the project. Young MP from Ladakh J T Namgyal said that the priority should be to energise all schools and hospitals (health institutions) with clean energy. Things are indeed changing in this far outpost of India as barely two decades ago, there used to be power supply for an hour every evening! Most hotels and public places then had diesel generators which provided the power to these establishments. If the enormous potential for generation of clean energy is harnessed optimally, Ladakh can also become self-reliant economically also.
