Vikram Solar based in Kolkata has completed India’s first floating solar power plant.
The R&D installation is part of a test project for new floating PV module technology developed by the firm.
The project was piloted in cooperation with the Arka Renewable Energy College in Kolkata.
Vikram is responsible for the installation and commissioning works.
The floating power plant uses 1 kW fiberglass PV modules to produce 14 MWh of solar power annually.
The installation of flexible nature uses ten 1 kW fiberglass modules, which helps the platform to float.
This floating system is anchored to the lake bottom which is located at Rajarhat in New Town area of Kolkata and is connected to the grid using a submersible cable.
The overall system is calculated to have a life span of 25 years.
The power generated would be supplied to the West Bengal State Electricity Development Corporation Ltd.
Gon Chaudhuri, who is a former managing director of West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) and West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation (WBGEDC), said the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) had provided a grant of Rs 20 lakh to the authorities for research and another Rs 15 lakh for developing and installing the solar panels.
The project has already attracted keen interest from experts and a team of Lakshadweep engineers are soon visiting the site as a similar one is taking shape there.
The benefit of floating solar plant is that it does not consume land space.
In Japan, the French firm Ciel et Terre pioneered floating solar PV project in 2013 by installing a 1.2 MW plant in Okegawa in addition to another 13.4 MW floating PV project scheduled for Yamakura Dam.
Sabeena Wahid
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