Andhra Pradesh gets a new floating solar power plant on Meghadri Gedda reservoir

A floating solar power plant commissioned at Meghadri Gedda reservoir in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam.

Key points

• Renewable energy plant: It can save coal up to 54000 tonnes per year.
• Capacity: It will produce about 2 million units of power each year.
• Developing entity: Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC)
• Significance:
  • No need for land acquisition
  • Low-cost energy production
  • Promotion of renewable energy resources

What are Solar Technologies?

• Solar technologies convert sunlight into electrical energy either through photovoltaic (PV) panels or through mirrors that concentrate solar radiation.
• This energy can be used to generate electricity or be stored in batteries or thermal storage.

Types of Solar plants in India

• Solar plants can be either;
• Ground-mounted or
• Set up on the surface of water-bodies or
• Though these floating farms are a bit more expensive than the traditional ones mounted on land surfaces.     

Common Uses of Solar energy

• Photoelectric cells
• Solar power generation
• Solar heating systems 
  
  
  

Some other to be commissioned power plants

The renewable energy plants that are likely to be are:

• 25MW floating solar plant at Simhadri thermal power plant near Visakhapatnam
• 92MW floating solar plant at Kayamkulam in Kerala
• 100 MW plant at Ramagundam