1st floating solar plant at Ujjani dam, Solapur

Mumbai: In a green energy initiative, the state government has kick-started a project to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) of solar energy through a floating plant on the waters of Solapur’s Ujjani dam. Twenty-eight companies have responded to the bidding process for setting up the plant.

Solar projects need land to erect panels and with land acquisition having become costlier, the energy department has adopted the concept of floating solar panels on dam water. The first such project in the state will be implemented at Ujjani dam in Solapur district.

MEDA (Maharashtra Energy Development Agency) is implementing the floating solar project and has recently invited bids for the same. Twenty-eight companies, which are into solar energy manufacture, have come forward. For feeder-based solar plants, Mahavitaran has got a power rate of Rs 2.72 per unit for 1,000MW capacity plants, which is the cheapest in the country. So, the government is expecting similar or even lower rates for floating solar plants as no land needs to be acquired, said senior officers of the energy department.

The project is an unpr-ecedented experiment in the state and after the plant is set up, similar projects will be implemented across all dam sites in future.