Can Floating Solar Plants Meet the Industrial Power Demand in West Bengal?

Floating solar plants in West Bengal

Did you know that the eastern state of West Bengal is a pioneer in solar technology in India? Yes, WB government-owned WEBEL was one of the first manufacturers of solar energy panels in the country. However, the state failed to gather the required momentum around solar technology afterward. Even as other states move ahead on the solar ladder, West Bengal has always stayed behind in the renewable energy adoption. The lack of a good solar policy, stable supply of power and fair state of industrial development in the state has led to a stunted growth.

However, situations look to brighten up as the WB state looks at installing two floating solar plants with generating capacities of 5 MW and 100 MW respectively in Sagardighi and Mukutmanipur areas. The state wants to utilize raw water ponds at the thermal power plants to install these floating solar plants. The industrial demand in West Bengal has picked up the pace, increasing by more than 27% over the last seven years. Given a rise in the industrial power demand in the state, West Bengal should benefit from these floating solar power plants. The state has rich water body resources which can be easily utilized for installing floating solar power plants. The state had witnessed the installation of the country’s first 10kW floating solar panel technology, which was installed by Vikram Solar in Kolkata back in 2014.

These plants are expected to be commissioned by the next year. The cost of installing the floating plant would come around INR 5 crores, but the cost reduces with an increase in the generating capacity. Presently, there are losses at the state-owned power plants, which stands at roughly 28%. The state is also looking at thermal generation but it is trying to reduce consequences by implementing newer technology to keep carbon emission under check.

Though the floating solar plants or “floatovolataics” are getting more popular in India owing to land paucity, they do involve a higher maintenance and installation cost. However, they are regarded as a better alternative to land because they can be built on industrial water bodies like wastewater treatment plants, cooling facilities in factories and power plants etc.

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