India has finally understood the advantage it has when it comes to solar power and in turn, is seeing a growing demand for solar technologies. The country’s tropical environment offers abundant sunlight almost year-round, making solar a strategic choice as the energy source. India has made impressive strides in harnessing solar power to meet its energy needs. This in turn has also supported the nation in reducing its carbon footprint. As India moves towards its renewable energy targets, innovative solar technologies are fueling this transformation. Let’s take a deep dive and uncover the innovative solar technologies emerging in India.
Floating Solar Farms
Floating Solar Farms are among one of the most innovative solar technologies emerging in India. Unlike traditional ground-mounted solar panels, floating solar systems are installed on water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs, and dams. Floating Solar Farms come with several advantages. It offers an effective utilization of space, They are better for the environment as they also reduce the amount of evaporation in lakes and reservoirs. This is helpful as it saves water that can be used for generating hydropower and irrigating farmland. Additionally, this technology also helps the panels save up more energy as the cooling effect from water increases the efficiency of solar cells leading to higher energy output.
Floating Solar Farms especially come in handy when planning to build a large-scale solar park as it eliminates one of the common issues faced for this kind of project previously; land scarcity. Urban India faces land shortages, making setting up large-scale solar parks difficult. Floating Solar Parks offer an ideal situation allowing energy production without compromising on scarce land.
Considering the pros of Floating Solar plants, India has taken significant steps towards scaling up on this groundbreaking technology in recent years. One of the most notable projects is the floating solar power plant built on the balancing reservoir of the NTPC Ramagundam in Telangana. With a capacity of over 100 MW, it spans over 500 acres and consists of 40 blocks, each capable of producing 2.5 MW. India is also in the process of building the world’s largest floating solar power plant on the Narmada River in Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh. The 600 MW Omkareshwar Floating Solar Project is said to prevent 12 lakh metric tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
Floating solar plants are considered one of the big players in India’s goal of generating 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 while addressing land and water resources challenges.
Solar Powered Desalination
Solar Powered Desalination is an emerging solution addressing the need for clean drinking water due to India's growing water scarcity. Desalination is the process of removing salt and other impurities from seawater to make it suitable for drinking or irrigation. This process consumes large amounts of energy, but with solar energy powering this process, India can address the growing demand for clean drinking water, especially in the coastal area.
Back in 2019, a team from IIT-Madras set up India’s first solar-powered desalination plant near Vivekanand Memorial at Kanyakumari. Stretched up to 120 sqm, the plant could generate 10,000 litres of freshwater a day.
Solar thermal power plant
Emerging as one of the promising solar technologies, Solar thermal power plants concentrate sunlight to produce heat, which is then used to generate electricity. This method provides a more efficient way to convert energy into electricity as these systems can generate high-temperature steam. Solar thermal power plants are also more efficient when it comes to storing electricity as they can easily store heat instead which can be turned into electricity. This is because storing electricity is a much harder task than storing heat.
Additionally, these plants provide an increased level of control and flexibility when it comes to dispatching energy as after reaching the minimum amount of electric power needed to be supplied to the electrical grid at any given time (baseload energy) you can adjust their power output supplied to the electrical grid on demand which means it can be turned on or up at will.
Agrivotaics
Another emerging solar technology is Agrivotaics, an innovative approach combining solar energy generation with agriculture. This co-locating of solar and agriculture has solved the issue of land scarcity in the solar field. This kind of technology has benefitted both the solar and agriculture industry. Also known as dual-use solar, these also help in less consumption of water for irrigation due to the partial shade provided by the panels. The shading protects the crops from excessive heat hence reducing the water usage for these crops.
This technology is especially beneficial for our country as agriculture is a primary livelihood for millions of Indians. As agrivotaics involves installing solar panels on agricultural land, it offers energy generation in the rural parts of the country promising to eliminate electricity scarcity which is still a reality in these parts.
Conclusion
India’s dedicated approach towards a renewable future is making space for innovative technology in the market. With the Indian government’s commitment to the target of generating 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, solar power will undoubtedly play a critical role in shaping India’s energy future and innovative technologies that harness the solar power will only rise in demand. Technologies such as floating solar farms, solar-powered desalination, solar thermal power plants, and agrivoltaics harness solar power while also addressing challenges like water scarcity, land scarcity, and sustainable agriculture. India is heading towards an energy revolution and these innovations are driving our country to a cleaner and sustainable future.
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