Brief Study on Installation of Floating Solar Power Plant for Sustainable Energy Generation at Ladakh

Abstract

The need for sustainable power generation is well understood by human kind, which has encouraged several initiatives across government, private, community and individual level to move towards a clean-renewable energy based sustainable environment. As compared to urban and semi urban region, rural and remote areas exhibit high levels of pollution from individual power generation systems like diesel generators for agriculture and other day to day activities. Particularly, electricity supply to some remote locations have always remained a challenge owing to various factors such as connectivity, transmission losses and weather conditions. Installation of local power generation systems has several advantages in providing electricity supply to these locations. Renewable energy harnessing systems using solar, wind, and geothermal energy sources may have higher chance of ease of installation and efficient operation at remote locations compared to conventional steam or thermal power plants. Leh, Ladakh is one such remote region, highly dependent on small hydro power stations and diesel generators for its energy demand. The low temperature climatic conditions, increasing tourism and recreational activities in this region demands high energy, exerting pressure on the common electricity supply chain. This article aims to conduct a preliminary study on the potential sites available for installing floating solar power plants and estimation of energy generation capability at Ladakh region.