A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the state-owned hydro giant NHPC with Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Limited (GEDCOL) to form a joint venture (JV) for developing floating solar energy projects in the state of Odisha. The projects will have an aggregate capacity of 500 megawatts.
Both the entities will collaborate to form a JV to explore, plan, and develop the floating solar projects across the various reservoirs of the state. The projects will be set up in a phased manner, with a minimum capacity of 50 megawatts. The projects will be implemented under the government’s Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Parks (UMREPPs) Scheme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
The development of the floating solar plants would entail an investment of Rs. 2500 crore (US$ 332 million). The first phase of the project is expected to commence in March 2022.
According to a report published by The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), Odisha has the potential to generate 177.55 gigawatts of solar energy from 877 square kilometers of cumulative reservoir area in the state.
Solar power parks will play a major role if India is to get close to its very ambitious target of 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2022. Policymakers recognized this fact early on. In 2015, the government approved 27 solar power parks to be built around the country. These parks would have an installed capacity of 18.4 gigawatts. By 2017, however, this target to doubled to 40 gigawatts. While announcing grand targets, the government has also taken measures to make investments in solar parks attractive. In 2019, the government announced several incentives for states and public sector companies to set up solar power parks.
According to a recent report, solar power park development in India offers a US$500-700 million investment opportunity. The government has so far approved 26.5 gigawatts of solar power parks, with some individual parks being as large as 5 gigawatts.
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