Madhya Pradesh state government has announced that the world’s largest floating solar project will begin operations in 2022-23.
- 600MW capacity facility is proposed on the Narmada river with a cost of Rs 3000 crore.
- The floating panels will be installed in the backwaters of the Omkareshwar dam and cover approximately 2000ht of water area the in Khandwa district.
- These panels will have the capacity to automatically adjust their position when the water level at the dam is low.
What is Floating Solar PV?
- FSPV (floating solar PV) also known as floatovoltaics is a solar PV application in which PV panels are installed to float on waterbodies such as reservoirs, hydroelectric dams, industrial ponds, water treatment ponds, mining ponds, lakes, and lagoons (TERI).
- Floating solar PV has an advantage in deploying solar PV as it is not dependent on land availability.
- According to a TERI report, there are more than 400,000 sq. km of the reported man-made reservoirs in the world out of which India has a share of about 70,000 sq km. This shows a vast potential that can be trapped for clean energy generation.
Due to following reasons FSPV is more beneficial:
- Higher gains in energy production
- FSPV is termed as land neutral
- Reduction in water evaporation
- Possibility of sharing existing electrical infrastructure
- Complementary operation with hydroelectric power plants
- Reduction in algae growth
- Easy installation and deployment
Recently, Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) — the company that operates the world’s first airport fully powered by solar energy — has commissioned one of the biggest floating solar power plants with a capacity of 452 KWh.
(Source: TERI Report)
