World’s Largest (4GW) Solar Project Planned For India
The Ultra-Mega Green Solar Power Project is intended to eventually produce 4 GW of solar power. If this goal is reached, it will be more than twice as large as India’s current solar power production. An estimated 6,000 million kWh per year will be fed into the national grid, if the project is realized.
The location is near Sambhar Lake, almost fifty miles from Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan. Over 20,000 acres will be used, but it appears so far it has not been reported if PV or concentrated solar will used, or a hybrid. Rajasthan was chosen due to high irradiation levels and large amounts of open space.
The first phase of the mega project will be constructing 1 GW through a collaboration between Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL) and SSL, the Solar Energy Corporation of India, and the Power Grid Corporation of India. SJVN, a hydro-electric power plant developer, will also contribute. The first phase could be completed by as early as 2016.
Funding for the 4 GW project could come from a newly passed bill for Corporate Social Responsibility. It requires 2% of annual net profits from certain companies to be used for projects for the social good.
Solar looks like a very promising path for India, because their total capacity for producing power from sunshine is vast with 5,000 TWh of solar insolation annually. Solar power has been increasing in leaps there. It makes sense that it would, with the abundant sunshine and very strong engineering culture in both professional and academic circles.
The national government is also committed to reducing climate change emissions, and trying to stabilize the country’s fluctuating energy problems. Additionally, investing in domestic, renewable energy production is a good long-term strategy, compared with sticking to the importing of fossil fuels. Currently, solar provides less than one percent of India’s power. Coal and hydro power are two of the main sources, but India has been experiencing power shortages. In 2012, a blackout caused almost 700 million people there to have no power.
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