In a first, the Indian base camps at Siachen and its Siachen Brigade headquarters situated at Partapur in the Nubra Valley of Ladakh will soon be powered by solar energy, report Times of India.
The development has been made public by Union Minister for New and Renewable Electricity RK Singh. Singh revealed that the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) which runs under his Ministry has awarded the contracts for setting up of two solar-storage power plants, one each at the two aforementioned locations for round-the-clock power supply.
The project at Siachen will meet the lighting and heating needs at Base Camp I, II and III, while the project at Partapur for the Brigade headquarters will meet similar needs of the Indian Army's 102 Brigade which holds the overall charge of defending the strategically located glacier.
The completion of these vital projects will reduce the Indian Army's dependence on diesel for running generators and more than halve the cost of power.
Singh shared that while presently the per-unit cost of power at the Siachen base camps is as high as Rs 24-25, this will come down to Rs 9.89 per unit once the project is completed. Similarly, the cost of power will come down to Rs 10.34 at Partapur. The tariffs have been fixed for a span of 25 years.
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