Clean and

affordable energy
in Ladakh and
Karnataka
By-Aarya Rastogi(Leader)
Aarav lalan
Princy Sharma
Parth Gupta
Ridhi Bathla
Contents
 Comparison between Ladakh and Karnataka in terms of
energy
 Sources of energy
 Factors affecting energy
 Scope of improvement in future
 Previous survey data
Sources of Energy

Sources of energy
• Energy is the driving force behind all aspects
of modern life. It powers our homes,
industries, transportation, and technology. The
sources of energy can be broadly classified into
Renewable
two categories: non-renewable and renewable. sources of energy
• Non-renewable sources of energy are those
that exist in limited quantities and cannot be Non-renewable
easily replenished. The primary non-renewable
sources include fossil fuels like coal, oil, and sources of energy
natural gas.

• Renewable sources of energy, on the other

hand, are derived from natural processes that
are continuously replenished. These include
solar energy , wind energy, Geothermal energy
, etc.
Sources of Energy in Karnataka

Sources of energy in Karnataka

• Thermal Power: Thermal power plants in
Karnataka utilize coal, natural gas, and diesel as
Thermal power
fuel to generate electricity. These plants are spread
across various regions of the state.

•
Hydroelectric
Hydroelectric Power: Karnataka has several
hydroelectric power plants that harness energy power
from flowing or falling water. Major rivers like
Kaveri and Sharavathi are utilized for hydropower
generation. Renewable
• Renewable Energy: Karnataka is a leader in energy
renewable energy in India. Some of them are solar,
wind, and biomass sources.

• Nuclear Power: Karnataka does not have its own

Nuclear power
nuclear power plant, but it receives electricity
from the Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant in
neighboring state of Karnataka.
Sources of energy in Ladakh
• Solar Power: Ladakh experiences abundant sunlight due

Sources of energy in
to its high altitude and clear skies. As a result, solar
power is a major renewable energy source in the region.
Solar panels and solar power plants are installed to Solar power
harness this energy for electricity generation.
• Wind Power: Ladakh's unique geography also offers

Ladakh
considerable wind energy potential. Wind turbines are
used to capture the wind's kinetic energy and convert it
into electricity.
Wind power
• Hydroelectric Power: Ladakh has several rivers and
streams fed by the Himalayan glaciers. Hydroelectric
power plants utilize the flowing water to generate Hydroelectric
•
electricity.
Diesel Generators: In some remote and off-grid areas, power
diesel generators are used to meet energy needs,
especially during harsh winter conditions when
renewable energy sources might be less reliable.
Comparison between Ladakh and
Karnataka
LADAKH KARNATAKA
 The main source of energy for Ladakh is  The main source of energy for
the geothermal energy .This is because Karnataka is solar energy which is
the ground under Ladakh is the point of constant, wind energy which varies and
convergence for two tectonic plates, cogeneration of all. 12% also comes
causing geothermal manifestations like from hydro resources and 3% from
hot springs to occur across the region. nuclear sources. Only about 34% of the

energy requirement is met by the
Because of its terrain and the
thermal plants.
mountains, Its difficult to connect it to
the main national grid.  Karnataka on the other hand has an
easier terrain which makes it easier to
connect to the national power grid.
 A famous Geothermal plant in Ladakh is  Some famous power plants in Karnataka
the Puga project is situated in the are-
Changthang Valley in the south-eastern  Karnataka I solar park is solar power
part of Ladakh.
station. It is located at Chikkoppa
Village in the Koppal District.
 Wind power project at Mavinahunda
site Raybagh Taluk, Belagavi district.
  The Himalayan mountains make it difficult to connect the Ladakh
region to the main national grid. Historically most electricity was
created using diesel generators.
 Ladakh has been called the "roof of the world" with abundant sunlight
and clear air making it unusually suitable for solar energy technologies.

Environmental  Solar Power plant required large area with bright sunlight and Ladakh
has both in abundance.

Factors for  Ladakh has a wind power potential of 1 lakh megawatt , as it has good
& clean wind resource due to its valley terrain and temporal variation.

Ladakh  Geothermal energy is heat within the earth, In Ladakh there are many
sources identified for Geothermal power plants;
 It is one of cleanest, cheapest and efficient way of generating power as
geothermal power plants produce electricity consistently, running 24
hours per day, regardless of weather conditions. Geothermal power
plants emit no greenhouse gases; Geothermal resources can be
harnessed for power production without importing fuel.

8
 Considering below factors and adopting a comprehensive and sustainable
approach to energy planning can help Karnataka transition to cleaner and
more affordable energy sources
 As compared to Ladakh , Karnataka has lots of positive.
Positive Factors
• Location: Good infrastructure it need less efforts for transportation
and less cost

Environmental • Weather : Normal climate & temperatures which increase efficiency

of solar panels as well as batteries.

factors for • Wind Resources: Coastal areas of Karnataka experience strong winds
which is positive for Wind Energy.
• Water Availability: Due to western ghat and Karnataka received

Karnataka ample amount of rain which make it good place for for hydroelectric
power generation
Negative Factors
 Urbanization and Land Use: Due to better climate conditions there is
increase in population as also rapid urbanization resulting increase in
energy demand. And it increase cost of development as land cost is
high which making it more costly.
 Lack of non fertile land : Solar Energy need huge space to do so one
need to compromised fertile land which may result in deforestation
or reduction of bio diversity. 9
Scope of improvement in future in
Ladakh
 Ladakh comprises of large rugged regions but is home to some of the warmest people. It
stretches for about 45,000 square miles and shares international borders with Pakistan, China
and Afghanistan. Popularly known as the “land of passes” it has a chilly and dry climate with
an average annual precipitation of about 3 inches (80 mm). It sees severe winters and houses
some of the highest places of the world.

 A landmark event in the history of the region was its transformation into a Union Territory
almost two years ago. This was also highlighted by Mr. Sharad Kumar Saraf, President
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), who said that the bold steps taken by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi would bring investments to the UT into various sectors with huge
potential like tourism, renewable energy, horticulture and food processing by boosting trade
and commerce to enable export of these products and services outside of the region. This
piece examines these sectors and highlights the great potential that this region has to offer.
 Ladakh has the potential to act as a vessel to feed India its required energy resources. For
this peace in Ladakh is a condition. For peace, equal unbiased development is mandatory.
Scope of improvement in future in Karnataka
 To analyse the power sector performance after the reforms, we select one of the south
Indian states, Karnataka, because of the following important reasons:
 The state has experienced considerable variation in the power sector performance, as
it was one of the first states to invest in power generation1 and attain industrial
advancement due to power surplus. However, it turned into a power deficit state due to
poor financial performance of the utilities, marked by irrational pricing, transmission
and distribution (T&D) losses, so on.
 The state is highly proactive in introducing reforms. Karnataka was one of the first
states to unbundle generation from other segments with the formation of Karnataka
Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) in 1970, and also among the first states to undertake
restructuring and unbundling in 1999 (Karnataka Electricity Reforms Act (KERA)). The
reforms and policies are expected to improve the overall performance of power sector
in Karnataka. However, the recovery is far from satisfactory as the peak deficit and
energy deficit in the state (6.8% and 5.2% respectively in 2015-16) are still high and way
higher than the 10 most populous Indian states, except for Uttar Pradesh (Central
Electricity Authority, 2016).
 Among all the south Indian states, Karnataka is the only state with less than 100%
village electrification (the definition of an 'electrified' village itself is questionable, as
the definition requires a mere 10% of households to be electrified).
 Karnataka's fiscal performance is highly satisfactory sans the power sector subsidy,
which has been high for a very long period of time and of concern for state finances.
The state is among the top destinations of investment from all over the world due to its
progressive nature with sound fiscal indicators, high industrial growth, and a thriving
Information Technology (IT) hub.
Power Generation Mix in 2021-2022
Targets and Initiatives introduced
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a
robust target of 50 per cent of power  The Ladakh Autonomous Hill
generation through renewable energy Development Council created LREDA in
by 2030. Karnataka has already 2000 in order to study and advise the
achieved it in 2021. local government on harnessing solar
 Out of the total installed capacity of energy in the mountainous region.
31,669 MW in Karnataka, 15,909 MW is  LREDA had a number of initiatives
from renewable energy sources. This including the Ladakh Renewable Energy
was possible as Karnataka has notified a Initiative Project (2001), which aimed
separate policy for solar energy in to install 11 micro-hydro projects with
2011. a total capacity of 11.2 MW and 125
 Later, in 2018, it implemented a first- solar-photovoltaic power plants.
of-its-kind 2,050 MW Solar Park in  Nevertheless, despite the recent
Pavagada and distributed generation of increase in defense spending against
20 MW in each of 109 taluks. the highly-tensioned LAC, little
 There is also a biomass/cogeneration progress has been made in the
energy source, most of which sugarcane development of renewable energy.
industries themselves are using.