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photo:shutterstock A place in the sun sudheerpalsingh localsupplychainstheconfidenceto NewDelhi,31August investinspecialisedfloaters,anchoring systemsandaquatic-gradecomponents. TheUnionCabinethasapproveda Hesaidtheindustryseestheschemenot nationalschemeforfloatingsolarpower simplyasawaytoaddgigawattstothe projects,settinginmotionalarger grid,butasestablishingacomplete,self- debatearoundthetechnology,including sustainingmanufacturingsegment itspotentialintheIndianenergycon- withinIndia’ssolarecosystem. text,commercialviabilityandbenefits. ButcantheSuryaSarovarscheme Thetechnology,alsoknownasfloa- helpattract~28,000croreininvestment tovoltaicsorfloatingphotovoltaics tocreate5,000Mwofcapacity?Itis (FPV),placessolarpanelsonspecial possible,saidindustryexecutives, buoyantstructuresthatfloatonwater arguingthatthecombinationofpost- bodiessuchaslakes,reservoirsand commissioningCFAandtariff-based watertreatmentbasins,insteadofbeing competitivebiddingmirrorswhathas fixedonland.Thishelpsdoawaywith workedwithground-mountedsolar.A theneedforlargetractsofland—some- keyreasonforthisenthusiasmisthat thingsolarpowerplantsarenotorious manyofIndia’smajorreservoirsare for—andputwaterbodiestogooduse. situatedneartransmissionandevacu- Largereservoirsarebettersuitedto ationinfrastructure,whichremovesone suchinstallations. ofthebiggeruncertaintiesdevelopers ThePradhanMantriSuryaSarovar otherwisehavetopricein:Thecostof Yojana(PM-SSY)buildsanadditional layingdownlongpipelinesneededto layerofintegratedenergystoragesys- evacuatepower. temsoverthisbasicideatoboostgrid “TheCFA,alongwiththe~50lakh stability.Finally,theschemepromisesto de-riskinggrantforfeasibilityand promotedomesticmanufacturingofflo- hydrographystudies,meaningfullynar- tationsystemsaswellastheprojects’ rowsthecostgapforwater-specificcom- entirevaluechain,suchasPVcells, ponentsfloatingsolardemands.Getting modulesandenergystoragesystems. theframeworkright,includingclear Underthescheme,anamountof domestic-sourcingguidelinesanddedi- ~5,070crore—partofanoverallamount catedtechnicalstandardsforfloating of~28,500crore—willgointoincentives solar,willmatterasmuchastheCFA todevelop5,000megawattsoffloating quantuminbringingbiddersinatscale,” solarprojectsalongwithenergystorage Dwivedi,partner,DeloitteIndia,said. saidManohar. systemswithaminimumstoragecapac- Headdedthatoverallcapitalexpen- Healsosaidthat,whenitcomesto ityoftwohours,or10,000megawatt- ditureperMwinfloatingsolaristypi- highcapexandcomplexcomponents, hours(Mwh). cally15-25percenthigherthanin thisisexactlytheopportunityIndiawas Theincentivewillbeintheformof ground-mountedsolar.“WhiletheCFA waitingfor,asitalreadyhasastrong CentralFinancialAssistance(CFA)of canreducethiscost-difference,itisalso engineeringandmanufacturingbase ~1crorepermegawatt(Mw),tobepro- tobenotedthatincaseofPM-SSY,there acrossfloats,mooringsystems,cables videdaftersuccessfulcommissioningof isaneedfortwo-hourenergystorageto andbalanceofsystemsequipment.PM- afloatingsolarproject.Inaddition,an beprovided,thecostofwhichalsoneeds SSYgivesthatbasethedemandvisibility assistanceofupto~50lakhperproject tobeaccountedfor.TheoverallCFAof1 toscaleandspecialise. willbeavailableforundertakingfeasibil- croreperMwcaneffectivelyreducethe WhatmustIndiadotorapidlyscale itystudies,environmentalstudies,and two-hourstoragecostbyabout15-20per upfloatingsolarcapacity? otherpreparatoryactivitiesrequiredfor cent,whichisreasonable,”Dwivedisaid. MNRE,whichisanchoringthe de-riskingtheproject. Inaddition,stateelectricityregula- scheme,iscarryingoutastate-wise torsandutilitiesmayalsofactorthe studyoffloatingsolarpotentialsothat Potentialandchallenges additionalbenefitsofpoweravailability companiescanstartplanninginvest- Thecountrycurrentlyhasonly700Mw innon-solarhoursfromstorageunits ments,matchcapacitywithdemand offloatingsolarcapacity.WiththeSurya intotheircost-benefitanalysis.Twofre- centresandaligntheplanwithstate- Sarovarscheme,thatcapacityissought quentlycitedpositivesarethelikelihood levelrenewablepurchaseobligations. tobeincreasedto5,000Mw,withan offewerlanddisputes Withmanymajorreser- expectedinvestmentofaround~28,500 andthewaterconserva- voirsalreadysitting croreinprojectsthatwillbeimple- tionfromreducedevap- closetoexistinggrid mentedunderatariff-basedmodel oration(thepanels infrastructure,theprior- underwhichthelowestbidderis blocksunlightfromhit- ityforrapidscale-up awardedtheproject. tingalargesurfacearea nowissustainedinvest- Thecapacityprojectionunderthe ofthewater). mentinevacuation schemeisbasedonarecentassessment capacityandcleartech- ofIndia’sfloatingsolarpotentialata Lightinghope nicalstandards,backed massive102gigawattsbytheNational TheCFAcomponent, byacc-rediteddomestic InstituteofSolarEnergy(NISE),the then,createsabasefor testing,sothatquality MinistryofNewandRenewableEnergy thestatestostartcon- andreliabilitykeeppace (MNRE)andtheIndianInstituteof sideringfloatingsolaras withthescale-up. Technology(IIT)Roorkee. anoption. AsDeloitte’sDwivediputsit,“The However,thetechnologycomes Theargumentformakingahumble SuryaSarovarSchemeisastepinthe withitsownchallenges:Commercial beginning,supportedbystatefinancial rightdirectionandwillmakeFloating viability,highupfrontcapitalcosts, assistance,hasgiventhedomesticsolar PVSolarprojectsmorecompetitivein vulnerabilitytoextremeweather,impact industryhopeforrapidcapacitycre- theimmediatetermandhelpinstren- ontheenvironment,andoperationaland ation,despitethephysical,commercial gtheninguptheecosystemofmarket maintenancedifficultiesinhumid andenvironmentalchallenges. participantsforsuchprojectswhich aquaticenvironmentsoverthelongterm. “Floatingsolarholdsmassivepoten- willbenefitthesectorinthelong-term.” “ArecentstudyofMNRE,NISEand tialtobecomeacornerstoneofIndia’s Indiaalreadyhasalarge-scalefloat- IITRoorkeehasassessedthepotential futureenergybasket.NISEestimates ingsolarprojectoperationalonthe forFloatingSolarPVprojectsat102GW. ournationwidecapacityatover100 OmkareshwardaminMadhyaPradesh. However,commercialfeasibilityisa gigawatt(Gw),farexceedingtoday’s700 The600Mwcapacityproject,developed challenge,asmostprocurersdonot Mwbase.WhatmakesPM-SSYsosig- jointlybyRewaUltraMegaSolarLtd, wanttobuythecostlypowerfromFloat- nificantisthatitoffersdomesticmanu- NHDCLtd,AMPEnergyGreen,and ingSolarPVprojectswhencompared facturersalong-term,predictable hydropowermajorSJVNLtd,isthelar- withground-mountedones.Thereare demandsignalalongsidephysical gestfloatingsolarparkinIndiaandcur- exceptions,suchasstateslikeKerala installationgoals,”saidAmitManohar, rentlyhas278Mwofoperational andOdisha,wherelandissubstantially secretarygeneral,IndianSolarManu- capacity.Expertssaythecountryneeds limited,andthereforeFPVemergesasa facturersAssociation. tobuildonthatexperienceandapply veryattractiveopportunity,”Anujesh Headdedthatthe5Gw-targetgives thelearningonanationalscale. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv 14 TAKE TWO B KOLKATA | TUESDAY,1SEPTEMBER2026 bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb [Showing first 8,000 characters — download PDF for full document]