IOC scales new high; Opens solar shop on the top of the world at Leh

ADDING a new feather to its glorious cap, Indian Oil Corp Limited (IOCL) has opened a new solar shop literally "on top of the world". The shop is located at 11,500 feet from the sea level.

On June 16, the Maharatna PSU commissioned the world's highest retail outlet in Leh -Lotus Xangpo memorial filling station -operated by solar power. Besides cutting greenhouse gas emissions, “the solar power generation system enables the...
retail outlet to save about Rs 30,000 per month“, IOC said in a statement.

The PSU has installed a solar power generation system at the petrol pump situated at 11,500 feet above sea level to replace polluting diesel generator, the company said in a statement here.

Besides cutting greenhouse gas emissions, "the solar power generation system enables the retail outlet to save about Rs 30,000 per month.".

The investment in the solar power system would be recovered in about 18 months.

IOC already has two other solar-powered retail outlets operating at Choglamsar and the Leh-Manali road in Ladakh region. But both are at a slightly lower altitude than Leh.

These outlets operate under extreme weather conditions, with temperature falling 25 degrees below freezing point during winters and thin oxygen density. But the solar systems function smoothly as the region gets bright sunlight due to dry weather conditions for most part of the year.

The PSU is using solar power to light up its petrol pumps across the country. Till March 31, 1,398 new outlets were solarized, taking the total tally to 2,663.

IOC plans to add another 1,500 petrol pumps and Kisan Seva Kendras in the current financial year and envisions touching 5,000 solar-powered outlets by 2017-18 and 10,000 by 2022.

IOC has 24,405 petrol pumps and 6,230 rural outlets called Kisan Seva Kendras.

"By installing solar power, the dealers of the outlets are assured of power supply at a constant voltage. Even fuel dispensing units, fan, tube lights and other essential electrical fittings can be operated at optimal capacity, which in turn ensures that a dealer is able to provide consistent and quality service to their customers," the statement added.

As on date, the total installed solar panel capacity at IOC retail outlet is around 5.5 Mega Watts, leading to a saving of 6,750 kilolitre of diesel per year, amounting to around Rs 40 crore, reported a national daily.