(TOI)
State-run IndianOil Corporation is harnessing solar power to make cooking gas refills available to homesteads and security establishments dotting the cold desert of Ladakh – also known as ‘roof of the world’ – in J&K as India’s largest oil refiner and fuel retailer moves to reduce its carbon footprint.
The company has switched its LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) bottling plant at Leh, the headquarters of the country’s largest district by area, from diesel generating set to an on-site 100 kw (kilo watt) solar power plant built at cost of over Rs One crore.
Essentially a frontier town situated at an elevation of 11,500 feet, Leh has turned into a major tourist attraction during the summer but is not connected to the national power grid. State-run Utility PowerGrid has established a transmission line for wheeling power from a 45 MW hydel plant at Alchi, about 75 Kms from Leh, but supply remains patchy. Since the plant needs uninterrupted power all through the year, IOC has been running the plant on generators, burning 45,000 litres of diesel annually. Solar power will help avoid emission and help in air quality management.
