India is building solar plants over canals to save land, water

India figures canal tops are fine places to install solar power plants!

India is exploring places to install solar plants, and that includes the top of canals. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon inaugurated a new "canal-top" solar energy plant in Vadodara, Gujarat. The investment target for solar alone is raised to $100 billion. They say that by 2022, India would scale up solar power to over 10 percent of its total energy mix.
An earlier 10 MW plant on the outskirts of Vadodara is built across 3.6 km of irrigation canal, and has 33,800 solar panels mounted on steel scaffolding. It's connected to the state grid. On a good day, the plant generates 50,000 units of electricity (1 unit equals 1 hour of 1,000-watt usage), and is scheduled to produce 16.2 million units in its first year, declining 1 percent annually as the panels degrade. Find mention also about the Sardar Sarovar project, a hydropower and irrigation scheme meant for 1.8 million hectares (4.45 million acres) of land in Gujarat and Rajasthan through 75,000 kms of canal.
Lower temperatures due to the water body below the canal-top plants boost panel efficiency by around 7 percent. But the higher construction cost of these plants because of the use of more structural steel is a disadvantage.
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"... "I saw more than glittering panels – I saw the future of India and the future of our world," said Ban. "I saw India's bright creativity, ingenuity and cutting-edge technology."
Experts identify two major advantages in building solar plants atop canals: efficient and cheap land use, and reduced water evaporation from the channels underneath. ..."
"... As part of that effort, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy plans to create 100 megawatts (MW) of capacity from grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants built on top of canals and on their banks ..."
"... The cost of producing 1 unit of electricity at the Vadodara plant is 6.5 rupees ($0.105). ... canal-top plants are more expensive to maintain ... the company incorporated side bars on the scaffolding and walkways between the panels so they can be reached easily for cleaning. ... another smaller plant in Gujarat, ... along a 750-metre stretch of canal, the 1 MW plant has so far generated 4.35 million units of electricity. ..."
"... The 1 MW canal-top plant cost $2.8 million, ... whereas a 1 MW land-based solar plant costs $2.3 million.
Another problem is that PV panels are usually mounted facing southwards for optimal performance, but a canal might curve and change direction. Using only north-south stretches of water could limit the scale of canal-top plants, ... Long-term exposure to environmental stresses and ingress of water into the panels could reduce their performance, ... Further concerns centre on the potential environmental impacts of canal-top plants on their surroundings, as the risks remain unclear. ... canal water could be contaminated by chemicals used on the plant’s scaffolding for maintenance. But ... fears may be unfounded because the canal water is flowing, not stagnant. ..."

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Find this at http://in.reuters.com/article/india-solar-idINKBN0KP0ZO20150116 .