A floating solar power plant pilot of 10 kw peak (kWp) — the peak power — has been commissioned at Dhanas lake in Chandigarh amid efforts by the government to develop the Union Territory as a solar city.
It has been designed to supply power to fountains at the lake for aeration.
The Unique Selling Proposition is its dual-axis tracking technology that has been developed indigenously, which is capable of generating 30% or more power than conventional solar photo voltaic ones mounted on the ground.
In a move towards realizing the broader objective, Yellow 2 Gen Energy Pvt, which installed the plant recently, has proposed to the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society for innovative development of the land-neutral solar photo voltaic (floating SPV) plants.
This technological innovation means the platform could be set up on small water bodies for meeting captive energy requirements as well as conservation of lakes and ponds.
Highlighting its relevance, Vivek Jha, a Co-founder and Director, said a decision to promote installation of floating solar power plants will benefit states that are grappling with the problem of land acquisition.
The floating power plant in the planned city is yet another attempt to achieve practical and tangible progress in harnessing solar energy and facilitate large-scale generation of electrical energy through solar radiation at economically viable cost.
The government has earlier chosen Chandigarh to develop it as a model solar city and has an ambitious plan for deployment of 175 GW renewable power capacity by 2022, including 100 GW in solar energy.
By Baishakhi Dutta
