1000 MW of solar power; higher capacity than rooftop solar; topic of discussion at Electricity Department's workshop too

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A study report by ANERT has said that 1000 MW of solar energy can be generated by utilizing unused fields and government outlying lands. Mega solar power plants with much higher capacity than rooftop solar can be set up. Local power supply can be met and transmission losses can be reduced if solar plants are set up on hundreds of acres of unused land in Kerala. Such power can be supplied to government and private hospitals, educational institutions, government offices and local self-government bodies.

India's first solar airport, Nedumbassery, is generating 12 megawatts using ground-mounted panels. It is proposed that similar projects can be implemented on unused lands. The proposal was discussed at a workshop organized by the Electricity Department as well. It is estimated that if this is utilized, self-sufficiency in electricity generation can be achieved. Kerala's goal is to switch to completely renewable electricity by 2040.

Viability gap funds can be allocated to set up a battery system to collect solar electricity or it can be implemented as a joint venture with large corporate institutions. In this way, the required electricity can be made available to large commercial and production networks.

4000 units in 4-5 acres

A land of four to five acres can generate up to one megawatt of electricity depending on the level of sunlight. This will yield at least four thousand units of electricity.

Installed power generation capacity in Kerala: 4800 megawatts

Current solar power: 1165 megawatts

Targeted generation capacity in 5 years: 10000 megawatts