Power floats on water: Centre clears 5,000 MW solar plan; Kerala set to benefit

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet has approved a scheme to generate 5,000 MW of electricity by installing floating solar panels on water bodies across the country. Named PM Surya Sarovar, the scheme has been allocated Rs 5,070 crore. The scheme is expected to benefit Kerala, which has 81 dams and extensive backwater stretches. At present, only around 700 MW is being generated through similar floating solar projects in the country.

The Centre will provide financial assistance of one crore per MW for projects commissioned by the states. It will also provide Rs 50 lakh per project for feasibility studies, including bathymetry, which determines the depth of water bodies, and hydrographic surveys. The scheme will remain in operation until the 2020-31 financial year, while financial assistance will continue until 2032-33.

A study conducted by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) had found that the country has the potential to generate 102.18 GW of electricity through floating solar projects.

92 MW at Kayamkulam

• A 92 MW floating solar PV project has been set up at Choolatheruvu in Kayamkulam, on a 450-acre lake, by Tata Power Solar Systems for NTPC.

• The project was commissioned in July 2022 and supplies electricity to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) at Rs 3.16 per unit.

• The 600 MW Omkareshwar Floating Solar Power Park in Madhya Pradesh is currently the largest such project in the country.

500 kW at Banasura

Floating solar power is also being generated at the Banasura Sagar Dam in Wayanad. The project originated from a project presented in 2010 by Ajay Thomas of Kammana Vazhamplackal in Wayanad, when he was a student at Wayanad Engineering College.

Vatsaa Energy began the floating solar project in 2014. It currently generates 500 kW of electricity.