Mumbai: The Marathwada Statutory Development Corporation (MSDC), a state government body, has planned to install floating solar panels on the backwaters of two giant dams in the state to generate power. The dams in question— Jayakwadi dam located in Aurangabad district of central Maharashtra and Ujani dam in Solapur district of western Maharashtra— will be the solar power generation sites, informed an official on Tuesday.
The official informed that a study in this regard was at an advanced stage at the Ujani dam while the Jayakwadi dam had been added later to the project.
“The Jayakwadi dam, like Ujani, has widespread backwaters, which can be used for installing floating solar panels for power generation. There is ample free space at the tail-end of the dam, which we are planning to use for solar panels,” said Bhagwat Karad, chairman of MSDC.
The Jayakwadi dam built on the Godavari river is located near Aurangabad city and is a key source of water for this arid region.
The Ujani dam built on the Bhima river is located near Madha tehsil of Solapur district, and is the state's largest dam in terms of water storage capacity.
Mr Karad said, “Ujani and Jayakwadi dams come under the corporation’s jurisdiction. We have decided to seriously pursue the concept and come up with practical plans for setting up solar panels.”
“A meeting with officials from the state water resources and electricity departments took place recently in Aurangabad to discuss the proposed project. We also held talks with some private companies which are willing to invest in this project and operate it,” Mr Karad added.
Such projects would reduce the government’s dependence on acquiring land, which is a long-drawn process, for setting up solar power plants, the official said.
