First of its kind: Gujarat's dream solar project

A project that has the potential of generating 2,200 MW electricity from solar panels, give clean, pollution-free energy, save 11,000 acres of land and also prevent water in irrigational canals from evaporating, does indeed sound like a DREAM project. But if the new canal-top project in Narmada is to be followed, that dream might become Gujarat’s reality. The world’s first canal-top project on Sanand branch canal of the Sardar Sarovar Nigam Ltd generating one-MW electricity from solar panels atop the Narmada branch canal was inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_289397” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“To produce solar power and avoid water evaporation, solar panels have been set up atop the Narmada branch canal. PTI”]  [/caption] Modi termed the project as “jal and urja shakti” for a greener tomorrow, which virtually eliminates the need to acquire huge tracts of land, as is typically needed in setting up such plants. The 19,000-km-long Narmada canal network in Gujarat is a potential powerhouse and it is estimated that even if 10 percent of the canal top is used for setting up solar panels, it could help generate 2,200 MW of power, save large acres of land and prevent Rs 2,000 crore of precious water from evaporation annually. Gujarat’s solar power initiative could help the nation save Rs 500 crore over the next 25 years, besides reducing carbon emissions to the tune of 8 lakh tones. The project was commissioned within 1,000 days of conception. The trial run of the plant shows that canal-top solar power equipment produces 15 percent extra power as compared to land installations as the water flowing under the panels keeps them relatively cooler. Drawing parallels between solar and coal-based power generation, Modi told the media at the inauguration that 600 MW of solar power dedicated to the nation by Gujarat recently, would otherwise have required 7.5 lakh tonnes of coal, plus freight cost, working to Rs 250 crore annually. The project was executed by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd (GSECL) as the government could find no developer to take up the challenge at that time, he said. The project may very well become a path-breaking prototype for the power and water crisis that India faces.