Gujarat setting up solar power projects over Narmada canals

Gujarat is set to tap the potential of the 19,000 km-long canal network of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam project across the state for setting up solar panels so as to give a big boost to use of renewable sources for power generation in the state.

Prime minister-designate Narendra Modi will inaugurate a 1 megawatt pilot project, the first of a series of this project the Canal Solar Power Project, on Narmada branch canal near Chandrasan village of Kadi taluka in Mehsana district on Tuesday.

Besides this solar power unit, which is already commissioned, Modi also last week inaugurated a 600-MW solar power project spread across 11 districts, which also includes a 214-MW solar power park, the largest such generation centre at a single location in Asia.

The pilot project will generate 1.6 million units of clean energy per annum while helping to prevent evaporation of 90 lakh litres of water annually from the canal, thereby ensuring energy and water security.

While the estimated cost of the project is around Rs10-11 crore, actual cost of power generation would be much less in this case as the two banks of the canal will support the installation of solar power panels, reducing costs of basic infrastructure and land acquisition.

The main canal of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL) alone is about 458 km long, while the total canal length, including sub-branches, is about 19,000 km. When completed, the SSNNL's canal network will be about 85,000 km long.

This initiative is an extension to the state government's programme of utilising wastelands in the northern districts of the state and rooftops in towns and cities for solar power generation.

Also, independent solar power producer Azure Power has announced a 2.5 MW rooftop project in Gandhinagar.

Gujarat, which invests nearly Rs2,000 crore an year on renewable energy, has attracted investments of Rs9,000 crore so far on solar energy projects.

The pilot project on the Narmada canal covering a 750-m stretch of the canal has been built by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL) with support from Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), which owns and maintains the canal network.

It is estimated that about 10 per cent of the existing canal network of 19,000 km is enough to support installation of 2,200 MW of solar power generating capacity while also helping to conserve 11,000 acres of land and saving about 20 billion litres of water annually.