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India has been celebrated by environmental groups with the announcement of its latest solar power plant in Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu, Southern India. The facility’s construction propels India into the top position for the world’s largest solar power plant.

 

The recently-completed plant cost $679 million USD. With a capacity of 648 megawatts, the site covers an impressive area of 10 square km. This kicks the former champion, Topaz Solar Farm in California, into the dust with 550 megawatts output. Given the solar potential resource of around 5.5 kWh/m2 a day an annual generation of 1.3 TWh/yr is thought to be possible.

 

The country feels a sense of urgency, as several of its industrial hubs are starting to reach air pollution records. The country’s important use of coal, its primary source of energy, significantly contributed to both the problem and the its energy needs. India has a goal of producing 40 percent of its power from renewable energy by 2030.

The plant consists of 576 inverters, 154 transformers and almost 7,500 km of cables. The construction consumed 30,000 tonnes of galvanised steel. About 8,500 personnel worked on average installing about 11 MW a day to set up the plant in the stipulated time.

 

If the facilities output isn’t impressive enough, the facility was completed within 8 months and has its own robotic cleaning system. This cleaning system is in itself charged by its own solar panel system.

 

At full capacity, this facility will account for nearly 10 per cent of the country’s current solar capacity of about seven GW.

 

With all existing solar plants in India, the new facility at Kamuthi, pushes India’s total capacity past the 1o gigawatt threshold. According to research by Bridge to India, this means India is now in an exclusive club of countries that can make this claim.

Source: Interesting Engneering.Com