 Procedures, hurdles and success factors.

Permitting process and technical

potential of wind and solar energy in Laddakh

Ladakh has a wind power potential of 1 lakh megawatt (Mw) and preliminary studies have
indicated the region holds tremendous promise for setting up commercial scale wind
energy projects, according to K Balaraman, Director General of Chennai-based National Institute
of Wind Energy (NIWE).

Ladakh, a Union Territory under the administrative control of the central government, has good
wind resource due to its valley terrain and temporal variation with an estimated potential of
5,311 Megawatt at a hub height of 50 meter. The potential goes up to 100,000 Mw at a height of
120 Meter, Balaraman told wind energy stakeholders in a meeting earlier this month.

Hub height refers to the distance from the turbine platform to the rotor of an installed wind
turbine and indicates how high the turbine stands above the ground, while not including the
length of the turbine blades.

The meeting was held in Leh under the Chairmanship of Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Joint Secretary Bhanu Pratap Yadav to explore the possibilities
of setting up Wind Power projects in Ladakh including setting up of wind masts for validation of
wind resource and other issues.

The meeting was attended by officials from MNRE, NIWE, Solar Energy Corporation of India
(SECI), Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency (LREDA), local administration, and
representatives from the industry.

Balaraman made a detailed presentation on the wind and solar resource assessment studies
carried out by NIWE for Ladakh and Kargil and highlighted the site for the projects, Chushul in
Ladakh, had shown great potential.

"The defence establishments at Kargil and Ladakh regions which are completely relying on
diesel gensets for their energy demands may also explore the possibility of utilizing the wind or
solar power for their needs," Yadav said.

It was decided during the meeting that all the stakeholders will provide inputs to NIWE for
finalizing the locations for installing met masts in the region. Also, a working group comprising
NIWE, project developers and original equipment manufacturers will be formed to finalize the
locations and decide upon the type of wind turbine generators to be deployed.
After the identification of potential locations NIWE and SECI will together plan the grid
evacuation infrastructure development including logistics details in coordination with Border
Roads Organization
o Climate Ladakh

lies in the rain shadow side of the Himalaya and experiences both arctic and desert climates, as a
result of which it is often called the ‘Cold Desert’. The main features of this cold desert are wide
diurnal and seasonal fluctuations in temperature with -40 °C during winters and +35 °C during
summers. Annual precipitation is just 10 cm, mainly in the form of snow. Here, air is very dry
and relative humidity ranges from 6%–24%. Thus, due to high altitude and low humidity, the
radiation level is very high, soil is thin, sandy, and porous, and the entire area is devoid of any
natural vegetation. Irrigation is mainly through channels from the glacier-melted snow. Rainfall
in the area is almost negligible and the average snowfall is between 2–5 m in the villages. The
variation in altitude variation affects the local climate. The region has more than 300 sunny days
in a year and because of a thin atmosphere, solar radiation is as high as 6–7 kWh/m2.

o Leh district

Leh is one of the two districts located in Ladakh, the other being the Kargil district to the west,
in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. India is bound on the north by the Ghanche district, a small
border with Xinjiang, China, via the Karakoram Pass, which is part of the district. Aksai Chin
and Tibet is to the east; Kargil district to the west, and Lahul and Spiti to the south. Leh, with an
area of 45 110 km2, is the largest district in India in terms of area and lies between 32 o to 36 o
N and 75 o to 80 o E longitude. Leh is divided into six blocks, namely Leh, Khaltse, Nyoma,
Durbuk, Nobra, and Kharu.

o Leh’s climate

Leh has a cold, arid climate with long, harsh winters from October to early March, with
minimum temperatures well below the freezing point for most part of the winter. The town gets
occasional snowfall during winters. The humidity level is high with a year-round availability of
good solar radiation.

o Kargil district

Kargil district is situated between 30o to 35 o N latitudes and 75 o to 77 o E longitudes. It is

surrounded by Baramulla, Srinagar, and Doda districts in the southwest, Leh district in the east,
Himachal Pradesh in the south, and Pakistan in the north-west. The district is divided into four,
high-level natural valleys, namely the Suru Valley, the Drass Valley, the Indus Valley, and the
Upper Sindh Valley of Source RET Screen Database Kanji Nallah Valley. The Zojila and the
Fotulla passes situated at heights of 3567 and 4192 m above sea level, respectively, are called
gateways to the Kashmir Valley, Leh district, and Kargil district. The whole district has high
Rocky Mountains, and arid desert; is snow bound, and devoid of natural vegetation. It occupies a
unique position because of its high altitude—8000 to 23 000 feet above the sea level. The
topography
  Energy scenario in the Ladakh region

The energy consumption scenario of the Ladakh region indicates that the per capita energy
consumption of the region is about 8.17 kWh per day. The per capita energy consumption in the
rural and urban areas is equal to 7.7 kWh and 12.85 kWh per day, respectively. However, the
annual electricity consumption per capita in the Ladakh region is less than 150 kWh. The
average per capita consumption of electricity in India was estimated to be 704 kWh during
2008/09. Obviously enough, this is fairly low when compared to similar trends in some of the
developed nations such the US (~15000 kWh) and fast emerging economies like China (~1800
kWh). The world average stands at about 2400 kWh. The Ladakh region has not yet been
connected to the central power grid of the country and, thus, remains totally dependent on
hydropower and diesel generators (DG). The installed power capacity of the Ladakh region is
20.89 MW, through diesel and hydro. The present unrestricted demand for power in Ladakh is
58.53 MW (which includes 20 MW for a defence establishment). At an annual rate of increase of
7%, this requirement is set to touch 94 MW by the year 2010 and 140.5 MW by 2025.

 Energy use pattern

Energy consumption in the region is divided into the following five categories—domestic,
industrial, agriculture, commercial, and transportation. The energy consumption in the domestic
sector (HHs) accounts for more than 90% of the total energy consumption of the region.
Remaining 10% energy is distributed to meet the energy needs within the industrial, commercial,
and agricultural sectors. The power consumption in other sectors remains relatively small. It has
been observed from data collected from secondary sources that the energy use pattern of the
Ladakh region is predominantly oriented towards the utilization of thermal applications. This is
mainly because of the climatic conditions of the region. In case of domestic energy supply;
cooking and space heating constitute two major applications. These consume more than 95% of
the total energy demand of the domestic sector. However, lighting is the most important energy
requirement to connect the people with the modern channels of sustainable development.
  Fuel use pattern

It has been noticed that fuel wood, dung cakes, kerosene, and LPG are amongst 35 January 2011
the major fuels used for cooking; within which, fuel wood and dung cakes constitute almost 85%
share of the fuel used. Space heating in the rural areas is mainly done with the help of fuel wood,
dung cake, coke, and kerosene; however, in the urban areas it is done with the help of LPG or
diesel. In contrast, the hotels in this region use firewood and FO for space heating. Domestic
lighting is being met through electricity, kerosene, and solar energy. There are almost 93% HHs,
which own LPG connections within the city of Leh. As against this, the number of LPG
connections in the Kargil district is more than 20 000. The consumption pattern of LPG in the
remote areas mainly varies in accordance with the season. There are a total of 474 hotels and
restaurants besides 382 commercial establishments in the Leh district, while 204 hotels and
restaurants and 46 commercial establishments are located in the Kargil district. Most of the
commercial enterprises subscribe to the power generated by the Power Development Corporation
(PDC). The energy consumption for the commercial sector of Leh is higher than that recorded
for Kargil, mainly because the Leh district has a comparatively well-developed tourism sector.
The Leh district does not have any heavy industrial users of electricity, barring two clinkering
units and two flour mills; while the other industries are all minor consumers. Kargil has a sizable
industrial sector. In 2004, it had 424 small-scale industries. Out of which, 256 industries are
located in Kargil alone. However, just about 50 industries receive electricity from the Power
Development Department (PDD). The other industrial units have their captive generation
capacity varying between 5–25 kW. The average kerosene consumption for the industries is
estimated at about 250 kilolitres.
  Energy requirement in the defence establishments

Being the border region, there is deployment of large platoons of Indian Armed Forces and Indo
Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in the region. Defence establishments scattered all over the Ladakh
region require continuous and reliable supply of energy. The major power supply to this sector is
with the help of DG sets. The present connected load to meet the power needs of the army is
approximately 10 MW; which is likely to increase to 20 MW by 2020.

 Wind Potential in Leh – Ladakh UT

• Ladakh has good wind resource due its valley terrain and temporal variation

• At 50m hub height, the estimated installable wind power potential considering sloping and land
constraints is around 5311 MW @ 50 m (J&K)

• At 120m hub height, by removing slopes, high altitudes and other land constraints, the
potential is more than 100,000 MW

 Electricity generation

Presently, the total installed power generating capacity in the Leh district is 13.19 MW; out of
which 5.5 MW is through (16 Nos.) diesel gensets and 7.7 MW (5 Nos.) through hydropower
plants. Igo Marchellong (3 MW), Stakna (4 MW), Hunder (0.4 MW), and Bazgo (0.3 MW) are
the main operational SHP projects in the Leh district. The total electricity demand, mostly for
domestic lighting in the Leh district, has been reported as 59 MW. The total installed power
generation capacity in the Kargil district is 7.7 MW; out of which 4.45 MW is through diesel and
3.25 MW through hydro power. Iqbal (1.5 MW), Haftal (1 MW), and Marpachoo (0.75 MW),
are the main operating SHP projects in the Kargil district. There are two ongoing SHP power
projects in each district—Dumkhar (0.50 MW) in Leh and Sanjak (1.26 MW) in Kargil. Hydel
power has the major share (>64%) in the total installed capacity, whereas 34% electricity is
generated through DG sets in the Kargil district. The share of solar power is limited to just about
2%. During 2003/04, the total electricity consumption in Kargil was 127 17 thousand units. It has
been observed that the domestic sector of Kargil is the major energy consumer and consumes
about 66% of the electricity, followed closely by the commercial sector and the defence
establishment.
  Solar energy over the Ladakh region

Being a tropical country, most of the region in India receive good sunshine, and the number of
clear sunny days in a year is also quite high. The country receives solar energy equivalent to
more than 5,000 trillion kWh per year. The daily average global radiation is about 5.0 kWh/m2
in the north-eastern and hilly areas, about 7.0 kWh/m2 in the western regions and cold desert
areas, with the sunshine hours ranging between 2300 and 3200 per year. The Ladakh region is
located in the ‘cold and sunny’ climatic zone of India and receives more than 300 clear sunny
days, annually. The frontier locations receive global solar radiation as high as 6–7 kWh/m2,
annually, which also contains a small amount of diffuse solar radiation. The energy use
pattern/habits, resource availability, and increasing energy demand are deemed as good
indicators for the Ladakh region in its increasing shift towards solar energy use.

 Solar radiation

over Leh Leh is located at 34.17 °N 77.58 °E. Its average elevation is 3500 metres and average
annual rainfall is 90 mm. As the location has a high visibility and low dust cover, the intensity of
incident solar radiation is very high. The operating conditions (high solar irradiance and low
ambient temperature) of Leh are the best recommended ones for solar photovoltaic systems. The
location receives very less rain and experiences low cloud cover. The diffuse fraction of the solar
radiation is low and, hence, the direct component is very high. The annual average global solar
radiation over the region is about 5.90 kWh/m2. It has been estimated that the annual global solar
radiation availability over Leh is 2149 kWh/m2 —direct 1453 kWh/m2 and diffuse 695 kWh/m2
on a horizontal surface. Table 5 depicts solar radiation over Leh.
  Potential of solar technologies in the Ladakh region

On the basis of the secondary data, literature review, and interaction with NGOs active in this
region, it has been observed that for cooking, space heating, and electrification, solar energy
technologies can be used. Hence, sizable potential of solar thermal and solar PV technologies
exists in this region.

 Solar PV technologies the potential assessment of the following solar PV technologies

has been carried out, keeping in mind the electricity requirement of the people of the
Ladakh region.
 Solar home lighting (HLS) systems Ideally, each household in the Ladakh region is a
potential user of solar HLS. In the present scenario, the electricity availability is only for
four hours per day, mainly for lighting. The electricity supply condition in urban areas is
more reliable as compared to the rural areas. Thus, in the Ladakh region, 50% of the rural
HHs has been taken as a potential case for use of solar HLS. A total number of 20 000
HLS has been identified for the Ladakh region.
  Solar lantern A total of 9000 solar lanterns have been distributed by the state nodal
agencies (SNAs), through various schemes of MNRE. A survey may be conducted for
analyzing the problems and barriers of this particular technology adaptation. Battery
replacement after every 3–4 years is deemed as a major issue with unobstructed use of
SPV technologies. Hence, a suitable mechanism might be identified for replacing the
batteries by offering some incentives.
 Solar water pumps for harnessing groundwater for domestic and agricultural purposes,
solar water pumps have proven their worth in the region. So far, 22 solar pumps have
been installed in various parts of the region (mainly in the Leh district). Based on the
secondary data, about 500 solar water pumps are still required to satisfy the water
pumping requirements of the region. Off-grid PV power plant Solar energy-based power
generation is proposed only in those villages, where there are no hydro reservoirs.
Further, there are topographical difficulties to connect with the existing/proposed power
grid. The cumulative potential for off-grid projects has been observed to exceed 5 MW
(40–50 kW single units).

 Recent initiatives

Based on the detailed studies undertaken in the Ladakh region and after consultations with all
the stakeholders, the Ladakh councils in Leh and Kargil, district officials, and NGOs, the MNRE
has prepared a plan for the large-scale use of renewable energy with a total financial requirement
of `4730 million. The plan envisages the build-up of 30 small/micro hydel projects aggregating
to 23.5-MW capacity, setting up of about 300 SPV power plants of 5–100-KW capacity, 2000
SPV home lighting systems, and about 40 000 solar thermal systems. The solar greenhouses
proposed to be set up in the region would help in increasing the production of green vegetables
during the winters. The implementation was to begin from June 2010, to be completed in
December 2013. The renewable energy projects are expected to result in the saving of about
2000 million litres of diesel per year. Ministry of Power, Government of India, is presently
setting up two large capacity hydroelectricity projects in both the districts. P The 44-MW Chutak
Hydroelectric project of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC) is a run-of-river
hydro project located in the Kargil district. P 45-MW hydro-electric project on the Indus at
Alchi, (70 km from Leh) In addition, MNRE is also funding small off-grid projects through
various schemes with Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency (LREDA).
  Major recommendations

The Ladakh region is totally isolated from the modern world. A prestine land, it is accustomed
to following traditional methods and life is characterized by intense spirituality. Typical
geography, income levels, and improvement of human development index are some of the issues,
which may be considered towards fixing the subsidy or financial support for dissemination of
solar systems in this region/subsidy on solar products/technologies, similar to the north-eastern
region of the country. P Solar home lighting systems are essential for the villages far away from
the grid, with discontinuous electricity supply. The single module HLS can be given to the rural
HHs and the double module HLS model might be given to the urban and defence establishments,
depending upon the purchasing power of an end-user. P Solar lanterns have the maximum
possible potential in the bunkers/ remote villages and in defence establishments. The cumulative
estimated potential could be targeted by 2012; as the technology is well demonstrated and proven
in the region. P Solar water pumps are quite suitable for the urban areas of the region. Given that
the demonstration projects have been successful here, the sectors/areas can be identified for
installation of these systems. P Large-scale solar PV technology based solar power projects of
20-MW capacity might be targeted under the first phase of the recently initiated Jawaharlal
Nehru National Solar Mission. P The issues and barriers facing the Myoma and Tangste solar
power projects could be studied and an exact sizing of the solar power plants, within the 40–50
villages, carried out. P Keeping in view the low-income levels in the rural areas of Ladakh, a
special package could be developed to provide up to 90% support for various solar thermal
systems, mainly solar water heaters, solar cookers, solar greenhouses, and solar dryers.

 Acknowledgements

This article evolved as a result of involvement of people and authors who have already worked
in various projects in the Ladakh region. The author is extremely grateful for inputs received
from Dr Ashvini Kumar, Director, MNRE; Amit Kumar, Director, TERI; M Hasnain, Director,
LEDeG; Mr Jigmat Takpa, Director, LREDA; P S Chaturvedi, CEO, TRA International; and Ms
Lydia Adelin-Mehta, GERES. The reported data is mainly drawn from secondary sources and
information collected during the MNRE workshop, ‘Solar Energy Master Plan for Ladakh’, in
association with LREDA, TERI, and LEDeG