Avaada Power is in talks with various states governments to set up floating solar projects and expects some large tenders to be floated in the next two months, a top company official said.
The company plans to increase its installed solar capacity to 5,000 megawatts (mw) in the next four years, from 1,000 mw at present, and expects a significant share to come from the floating solar power segment.
The floating solar segment has a potential to generate 300 gigawatts (gw) of power across the country. This is the next growth story in the solar space. The company is in talks with various states and hope within the next two months some large tenders will be floated.
Currently, Kerala has the largest floating solar power plant in India with a capacity of 500 kilowatts (kw). States like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal are likely to float tenders for floating solar projects in the coming months.
Apart from that, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has announced its plans to set up 600 mw of floating solar capacity at the 1,960-mw Koyna hydel power project in Maharashtra.
According to Avaada, floating solar projects should be encouraged as land becomes a constraint while setting up ground-mounted solar capacities. India has so many dam reservoirs and ponds among others where such FSPs (floating solar projects) can be set up. It will also solve two problems – energy security and water security. Nearly 30 per cent water evaporation loss will go away and water quality will improve. Besides, setting up of FSPs can also boost tourism. So, it’s a win win situation and it is not that expensive.