Shining Bright: India's Largest Floating Solar energy Plant

• India is making a fast-paced transition in the direction of renewable resource. With bountiful sunshine throughout the year in many parts of the nation, it is no surprise that utilizing the full potential of solar power is the cornerstone of India's RE push.

Over the last few years, apart from grid-connected huge solar parks, especially in the western and also southern areas of the country, India is making a push towards floating solar plants also, Trend reports mentioning India World View.

In March this year, the government-owned NTPC started commercial power generation of an extra 42.5 MW in its flagship Ramagundam floating solar project. With this, NTPC Ramagundam is currently the biggest floating solar power plant in the nation. The overall power generation capacity at the plant has actually reached 80 MW. Over the next couple of months, this project, topped a location of 1000 are, is slated to create 100 MW. The whole project, including machineries other than solar panels, are improved floaters in the storage tank next to the existing huge thermal project at this site in the southerly state of Telangana.

A Make in India Project I went to Simhadri just recently, near the city of Visakhapatnam in the eastern coast of India. Next to the Simachalam Hills, a 25 MW floating solar plant has been working at complete capcity. Before Ramagundam, this was India's biggest floating solar energy plant. This is positioned just 30 kilometres from Visakhapatnam as well as the website already has a gigantic 2000 MW thermal project. From 2018, India began urging such thermal nuclear power plant to diversity into green energy. This was the very first such plant under this campaign Spread over 75 acres, this floating solar project can supply power to 7000 families.

As you stand near the project, as far as your eyes can go, you see only neat patterns of solar PV cells. NTPC has actually created this entire project indigenously with technical support from another federal government possessed firm, BHEL. Ravi Varma, a senior executive with the business, clarified that the plant has more than 100,000 photovoltaic panels-- all manufactured in India by Vikram Solar and also EMMVEE. Also the plastic HDPE floaters, on which the panels have been set up, have been manufactured in India. Various other critical elements like inverters as well as transformers are all made in India.

Apart from creating the huge Ramagundam project, NTPC is likewise working on a variety of other major floating solar projects (see the box). NTPC is likewise servicing green hydrogen project at Ramagundam. Harmonic with India's national power change strategy, by 2032, NTPC wishes to install 60 GW RE capacity. In this manner, from a thermal power titan, NTPC aims to advance as an integrated mega power firm.

India on a Mission In 2010, India introduced a National Solar Mission with an intial target to mount 20 GW solar power by 2022. In 2015, it was modified upwards to 100 GW, however, today mounted capacity is just over 50 GW. India today stands fifth after China, the United States, Japan and also Germany in regards to set up solar energy capacity. India currently desires install 300 GW of solar energy by 2030 and also to have 50% of her power requirements satisfied from sustainable resources.

India is internationally a major champ of solar power. India, along with France, started the International Solar Alliance in 2015. Up until now, 102 nations have joined this alliance. India highly believes that international climate action should be centred on one of the most abundant clean power resource in the world-- that is solar and also to know the full capacity of this power transition, India is collaborating with the idea of a transational solar grid under the "One World, One Sun, One Grid" campaign.