Indian company wants to develop solar parks on water with pontoons

An Indian energy producer wants to place solar panels on pontoons to develop floating solar parks. In addition to a higher efficiency, the costs of such installations would be lower. A first park should generate 50MW of green electricity.

National Hydro Power Corporation is building the first floating solar farm as a test in the Indian state of West Bengal. The company connects the pontoons to each other to limit the swell as much as possible. If the pilot project is successful, construction will begin on a significantly larger park in the state of Kerala. This park should have a peak capacity of 50MW and thus become the largest floating solar park in the world.

The company estimates the construction costs at around 50 million euros, Cleantechnica writes. The largest floating park with a surface area of ​​12,400 m² and 4,500 solar panels is currently located in the Japanese city of Okegawa. This park currently generates 1.2MW.

The rise of solar energy has pushed up land prices in India. This makes the construction of solar parks on land more expensive. With the floating parks, for which companies do not have to buy land, the initiators hope to be able to reduce the electricity price. In addition, the builders believe that pontoons on water achieve a higher return because the solar panels remain cooler than on land. The floating pontoons could also reduce water evaporation, a plus during very hot summers.