The ministry will subsidise 30 percent of estimated expenditure of $154 million to construct facilities to meet the canal-top goal. The 10 MW plant on the outskirts of Vadodara city, which began generating power in November, is built across 3.6 km of irrigation canal, and has 33,800 solar panels mounted on steel scaffolding. Connected to the state grid, its output is intended mainly to meet demand from irrigation pumping stations. On a sunny day, the plant generates 50,000 units of electricity (1 unit equals 1 hour of 1,000-watt usage), and is scheduled to produce 16.2 million units in its first year, declining 1 percent annually as the panels degrade. CHEAPER POWER The cost of producing 1 unit of electricity at the plant is 6.5 rupees ($0.105). SSNNL is entitled to use the same amount of power it feeds into the grid without paying the standard price of Rs7.5 to Rs8 per unit, Jain said. According to SSNNL, the 10 MW plant has saved on 16 hectares of land, and will potentially prevent 90 million litres of water from evaporating each year. In general, Jain noted that lower temperatures due to the water body below the canal-top plants boost panel efficiency by around 7 percent.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 05:41:00 +0000
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