Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh State Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department’s single largest floating solar power project (3MW) in Vizag is likely to be operational by May. If this happens, there will be some relief to utilities reeling under the present power crisis.
The Rs 14.03 crore project is being built over the surface water of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation’s (GVMC) drinking water source, the Meghadrigedda reservoir. The Gurgaon based ReNew Power is executing the project. The annual generation savings for GVMC will be 42 lakh units, which is approximately of Rs 2.94 crore. This apart, the offset Co2 emissions per year would be 3960 tonnes.
A functionary of ReNew Power said, “This plant even curbs evaporation of gallons of water from the reservoir, particularly in summer. An advanced UK design anchoring technology has been used to automatically adjust the panels to the water level variation.”
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, GVMC assistant engineer Rama Naidu said the project works started in 2019 and would be completed by this May.
“The project was delayed due to the two years of Covid19 restrictions. It is the state’s largest floating solar project over a water body in the municipal limits. We have a similar 2MW project over Mudasarlova reservoir here. This project saves 5 acres of land due to installation of solar panels on water,” Naidu said.
GVMC doesn’t spend a single penny as the entire funding of the climate-resilient project is borne by Asian Development Bank under the Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund.
According to the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP, floating solar panel is an emerging technology trend with huge potential in areas where there are water bodies. As per estimates, nearly 300GW of energy can be generated through proper utilisation of only 10 to 15 per cent of India's water resources through the floating solar power system.
