Solar energy for army in Ladakh
NTPC is confident it can issue a LoA by next month (September 2024) to Orissa-based Surya International for a solar and green hydrogen-based electricity project.
State-owned thermal power producer NTPC wants to set up a microgrid at Chushul in Ladakh, in the Himalayan mountains, for the Indian Army near India's disputed border with China. When NTPC opened price bids in January 2024, Surya bid the lowest, quoting Rs95cr ($11.8m).
Explaining the delay in issuing the LoA, a senior NTPC source said: "Obtaining internal approvals is taking time; now all that has almost been done, we should issue the LoA next month." When it receives the LoA, Surya must set up a microgrid that can produce up to 200-KW of electricity, which should be available to the Indian Army 24 hours a day throughout the year from solar energy during the day and from hydrogen at night.
Surya must install a 3.2-MW solar power generating facility. NTPC will use some of the electricity produced from solar energy to produce green hydrogen using two Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser stacks, each of 500-KW capacity.
Hydrogen will be compressed at 250-bar pressure and stored in cylinders. Fuel cells will convert the stored hydrogen to electricity for use at night.
A source says it will take up to 14 months from the LoA to set up this project because of the harsh Ladakh climate, where winter temperatures dip to minus 30 degrees Celsius. "Typically, the working window in Ladakh is between April-May and September, after which winter sets in," we hear.
"And because of the high altitude, the air is rarefied, making it difficult to work even during the working window."