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Floating solar power
India
Insight
A COLLEGE in Kolkata has developed a system of
generating electricity from anchored floating solar panels,
exploiting the space available on the surface of ponds,
lakes, reservoirs and dams.
An initial project is being tested on a lake outside Kolkata
city. The project has been funded by the ministry of new and
renewable energy and is expected to generate around 12kW
of power by December.
Since the government’s commitment to a huge increase in
solar power generation capacity, prices of barren land
earmarked for solar power projects have increased by 20-30
per cent.
This has, in turn, increased solar power prices. To generate
1MW of solar power on land requires about four acres of
space. Panels installed on floating platforms require an area
of around 20 per cent less.
It is proposed that the surface of the water body can be
rented out by its owner for a minimal fee, because such
water surfaces can be put to no other use.
“The ecology of the water body is not likely to be affected
much and it will also reduce evaporation, thus helping
preserve water levels during extreme summer,” said SP Gon
Choudhury, chairman of the Renewable Research College.
“Such floating solar stations would generate more energy as
research has shown that if the panels stay cooler, they
generate more energy, up by 16 per cent. Each station
would require around 3,000 square feet of space to generate
20kW of power. There are many water bodies that could be
used for this.”
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Floating panels provide one answer to providing solar power
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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2014
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