India's First Solar Farm on Dam Wall
Solar photovoltaic cells are being erected across the slope of a Dam. This is an India-first.The panels will be erected on the downstream slope of the Morbe gravity dam across the Dhavari river. This will generate 20MW power. The topography of the dam is its main feature. 32 million units power will be generated and fed into the grid.
This solar panels installation is different from the land ones. Mounting structures cannot be heavy. Structural integrity of the dam itself will be compromised otherwise. Although panels are being erected on the surface of dam reservoirs and canals, this is the first time -- possibly in the world -- that engineers are using the slope of a dam. India also has solar panels over canals.
Quote: 'India receives 4-7 kWh of solar radiation per square metre per day, with 300-325 sunny days in the year. India has abundant solar resources, as it receives about 3,000 hours of sunshine every year, equivalent to over 5,000 trillion kWh.'
A 1 MW solar power installation on top of a canal in Mehsana district was built. The pilot project spanned 750 metres. The project generates 1.6 million units of clean power and by covering the surface of the water, prevents 9 million litres from evaporating every year. Estimate is that by using one-tenth of the existing network of 19,000 km for solar panels, 11,000 acres of land and 2,000 million litres of water can be saved.
Punjab is also interested in the same and it has an extensive network of canals. Nano technology may be used to provide lightweight structures to support the panels over canals.
#SolarPower #Dams #DamsIndia #SolarPowerIndia #SolarFarm #SolarPanels #Maharashtra #Punjab #Gujarat #Kerala
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"... The panels have to be installed carefully, considering that the slope of the dam is earthen. "It extends for 3 km and we are erecting the panels on the slope," Rahul Gupta, the 27-year-old founder of Rays Power told indiaclimatedialogue.net. ..."
"... "Land is the biggest constraint," said Gupta, "so there is a huge potential in erecting panels over dams. The central government is proposing to help develop such technology." ..."
"... Since the Narmada dam authorities are presently building 19,000 km of canals to carry water to drought-stricken Saurashtra and Kutch, the scope for using these for solar power is immense. With declining costs of solar photovoltaic panels, the cost of such power has dropped from Rs 17 crores ($3 million) to Rs 11-12 crores ($1.8-1.9 million) per MW. Eventually, the canal network will extend for around 85,000 km. ..."
"... Meanwhile, Kerala is planning to set up another 1 MW pilot project where the panels would float over the reservoir of the Meenkara dam in Palakkad district. ..."
"... The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation is also planning to set up a 50 MW floating solar panel project in Kerala ... "
"... While conventional solar projects require 4 acres of land to generate 1 MW of power, with an investment of Rs 7 crore ($1.1 million), a floating alternative will call for 10-20% less surface area and cost Rs 6.5 crore ($1 million) per MW. This will generate power costing Rs 7 (11 cents) a unit, a rupee less than the conventional solar power system.
The Damodar Valley Corporation -- which straddles Jharkhand and West Bengal -- also plans to install 1,000 MW worth of solar power by covering 2,500 km of irrigation canals. ..."
Find this at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/darryl-dmonte/maharashtra-races-to-buil_b_6343148.html .
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