Context
India's largest Floating Solar Power Project, Ramagundam Floating Solar PV Project, commissioned by NTPC, is now fully operational in Telangana.
About Floating Solar PV Project
- Ramagundam Floating Solar PV Project is a 100MW solar power project of NTPC, located in Ramagundam, Telangana.
- It is endowed with advanced technology as well as environment friendly features.
- The floating platform consists of one Inverter, Transformer, and a HT breaker.
- It is Constructed with financial implication of Rs. 423 crores through M/s BHEL as EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract.
- The project spreads over 500 acres of its reservoir.
- Divided into 40 blocks, each having 2.5 MW.
- Each block consists of one floating platform and an array of 11,200 solar modules.
- The solar modules are placed on floaters manufactured with HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) material.
- The entire floating system is being anchored through special HMPE (High Modulus Polyethylene) rope to the dead weights placed in the balancing reservoir bed.
Floating Solar Plants
- It refers to the deployment of photovoltaic panels on the surface of water bodies.
- These platforms are typically moored on calmer bodies of water, such as ponds, lakes or reservoirs.
- They are a viable alternative to land-based solar arrays with applications in India.
- There are a large number of major reservoirs in the Southern Region which provides a huge opportunity to go for renewable energy in the floating solar method.
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Benefits
- Minimum land requirement mostly for associated evacuation arrangements.
- With the presence of floating solar panels, the evaporation rate from water bodies is reduced, thus helping in water conservation.
- Approximately 32.5 lakh cubic metres per year of water evaporation can be avoided.
- The water body underneath the solar modules helps in maintaining their ambient temperature, thereby improving their efficiency and generation.
- Similarly, coal consumption of 1,65,000 Tons can be avoided per year; Co2 emission of 2,10,000 tons per year can be avoided.
