The first floating solar power plant of Haryana will come up in Gurugram, and it will cost approximately Rs 20 crore.
Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials told the media that it is working on a project to build this kind of unit at the Chandu Budhera water treatment plant. The floating power plant is likely to be installed in the already existing water treatment plant of the raw water reservoir, which covers an area of nearly 22 acres. In September 2021, the project was proposed in a meeting of the GMDA core planning cell, and the officials claimed that it would cost nearly Rs 20 crore. After three months, in December, the chief executive officer (CEO) Sudhir Rajpal directed that the work must be expedited. A principal management consultant was appointed, and the detailed project report (DPR) was presented to the CEO. However, the senior officials suggested a few changes in the project. Moreover, the changes would be integrated, and the revised DPR would be discussed again. According to the officials, a floating solar power plant is built on a water body instead of on a piece of land. Besides facilitating renewable energy, these plants have many additional benefits compared to similar plants on land. Establishing a solar power plant on a water body also improves the module efficiency by 10-15%, leading towards higher power generation. They also control evaporation from the water bodies. The executive engineer said because the water flows into the ground for plants on the land, it cannot be re-used to clean the module. However, with floating plants, the water can be taken from the water body to clean the plant. He said it would save money, and the water can be used again. Image Source
