Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has proposed to set up solar power plant on the 2,494 kilometres of canals, which can generate up to 1,000 MW solar power. Earlier this year, the state had commissioned world’s first one MW canal top solar power plant in Mehsana district over 750-metres stretch of canal and taking cue from the project, DVC is looking to work on a similar path.
The biggest benefit of setting up solar power plant over water canal is that the need for land gets eliminated and water evaporation from the canal, which is quite high in India with sunshine for nearly 300 days in a year. DVC had told to build a 15 MW capacity canal top solar photovoltaic plant at DVC canal, Burdwan in West Bengal. “Detailed project report has already been prepared by global consultant price water house cooper,” a power ministry official said.
It is estimated that over 10 per cent of the 19,000 km-long Narmada canal network in Gujarat has the potential to generate 2,200 MW of canal top solar power, which saves 11,000 acres of land that and prevent Rs 20 billion worth of water from evaporation annually.
Also, canal-top solar power equipment produced 15 per cent more power than the plant set up on land as the water flowing underneath keeps the solar panels relatively cool.
The one MW plant, set up over 750 meter-long stretch of the canal will generate 16 lakh units of clean electricity and prevent evaporation of 90 lakh litres of water from the canal annually.
The length of the Narmada main canal, constructed under the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), is 458 km. The Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam has so far constructed about 19,000 km long canal network, out of the 75,000 km planned for the entire project.
