Taking yet another step towards a Greener Nation, Tata Power Solar installed India's largest floating solar power project, with a capacity of 101.6 Megawatt Peak, put into operation in Kayamkulam, Kerala on a 350-acre water body, backwaters area.
The Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV) through Power Purchase Agreement project is the first of its kind. It is also one of the first projects of Tata Power Solar to have CCTVs monitored and tracked around-the-clock for enhanced security and malfunction identification.
This 101.6 MWp capacity solar plant's large-scale installation and commissioning were the fastest in the FSPV category and secured a Commercial Operation Date (CoD) certification on 24th June'22. It boasts a floating inverter platform having a 5 Megawatt (MW) capacity for the first time at Tata Power.
Tata Power Solar has achieved a landmark project with the completion of this floating solar project that along with lowering the carbon emissions (64142 tonnes), also creatively utilises the unused area top of water body energy that will generate 167150 MWh of energy annually. A total number of 2,05,497 modules were entailed in the installation.
The Kerela State Electricity Board will consume all the power produced by this project under a power purchase agreement that has been executed with a PSU client (KSEB). It's interesting to note that Tata Power Solar safely carried, unloaded, and stored every solar module utilized in this plant for around 35 days on a small plot of land. It took 19 months for the completion of the project, however there was delay in Supply of Modules due to which project activities stranded for almost 10 months. A 350-person team that was entrusted with accelerating the project in accordance with contract agreements was also based in the factory during its construction stages and the project clocked 10,20,488 safe man-hours, without any incident during the commissioning.
Dredging of soil strata underwater and heavy monsoon caused a major challenge and to overcome it 134 cast pile foundations bored to a depth of 20 metres underwater were used to support the Central Monitoring and Control Stations (CMCS) and the 33/220 kilovolts switchyard. Low water levels during the installation and towing of the floats caused a delay in positioning the mooring in the waterbody. The solar modules were exposed to strong winds and gushing tides reaching a height of 3.5 metres that were towed for 3 kilometers on a 15 meters deep sea-linked National waterway. Other difficulties faced by the team were local fishermen's encroachment including theft, blocking the walkway with fishing nets, and causing damage to built-in structures.
Despite the arduous challenges of variable water depths, high sea tides, and severe water salinity concerns faced throughout the project's construction, the project was commissioned successfully.
With the execution of this floating solar project, Tata Power Solar exemplifies the accomplishment of landmark projects in the nation that take the edge off carbon emissions and intelligently utilizes the underutilized area of water body to generate energy. With the successful completion of this project, the company has successfully executed utility-scale solar projects totaling 9.7 GWp.
