‘Floating’ solar farms on Delhi’s water bodies, the first one at Bawana lake

Subject :Environment

Context:

After rooftop panels, the Delhi government has come up with a new proposal to generate electricity through solar energy by installing ‘floating solar farms’ in lakes, water bodies and ponds across the city.

About the project:

The project has been started in Outer Delhi’s Bawana lake.
A proposal has been made to install floating solar panels on water bodies such as on the Yamuna at Wazirabad and several ponds and lakes.
The Bawana power plant has a 1,500-1,600 MW capacity.
Floating solar panels are cheaper and more efficient than rooftop ones.

What are Floating Solar Panels?

These are Photovoltaic (PV) modules mounted on platforms that float on water reservoirs, lakes, and where conditions are right seas and oceans.
These platforms are typically moored on calmer bodies of water, such as ponds, lakes or reservoirs.
These installations are relatively quick to construct, silent to run and require no land levelling or removal of vegetation.
The 100 MW Ramagundam floating solar PV project in Telangana, is the largest floating solar power plant in India.

What are the Environment Benefits of the Project?

The most obvious advantage is the minimum land requirement mostly for associated evacuation arrangements.
Further, with the presence of floating solar panels, the evaporation rate from water bodies is reduced, thus helping in water conservation.
Approximately 32.5 lakh cubic meters per year of water evaporation can be avoided.
Efficient in Reducing Co2 Emission.