Floating solar panels can meet Maha’s energy demands: Study

Mumbai:

Mumbai:

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The state has the highest potential in India to generate energy via floating solar photovoltaic (FSPV) plants, a country-wide study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) revealed. FSPV is an emerging technology in which the solar photovoltaic cells are mounted on a structure that floats on a water body, instead of being placed on land or rooftops.

Currently, solar power needs are largely met via ground-based or rooftop installations, which, the study states, face the challenge of land availability.

According to the study, Maharashtra can generate 57,891 mega-watt (MW) of electricity through solar PV installations on 3,173-sqkm water surface area in 568 reservoirs. The study, ‘Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV): A Third Pillar to Solar PV Sector?’, released in February is part of the Energy Transmission Commission (ETC) India. It provides state-wise details of floating solar potential in the form of a web-based interactive tool called India Floating Solar PV-Tool.

Dr Ashvini Kumar, senior director, renewable energy technologies, TERI, said, “We looked at large and medium-sized reservoirs in every state and Maharashtra has a natural gift in this regard. The state is leading in terms of potential for installations of FSPV, followed by Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.”

The report states that India’s reservoirs have potential to generate 280 giga-watt (GW) of solar power. In Maharashtra, the installed capacity for energy produced through renewable sources is 9,500GW, of which 18% is met via solar energy.