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Canal Top Solar PV Plant in Gujarat: A Unique Nexus of Energy, Land and
Water
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Narayani Srivastava
Deft Advisory and Research Private Limited
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All content following this page was uploaded by Narayani Srivastava on 19 September 2016.
I
ndia, a country with an ever- Authority of India, the average 70 per cent of the country’s electricity
increasing population (over 1.2 requirement of energy per capita in is generated from fossil fuels, but
billion as per Census 2015) and India is 1,010 kWh. Despite the fact as per the draft National Renewable
need for energy is faced with the that the per capita energy demand Energy Act, the government has a
enormous challenge to produce is the lowest in the world, there is target 175 GW through renewable
energy with efficient utilization of a substantial need to increase the resources by 2022. The proposed
available resources. In this context, energy generation as India is emerging act also takes into account the
the state of Gujarat came up with an as one of the leading manufacturing provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003,
innovative and cost-effective solution nations in the world. India recognizes Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation
to utilize the existing irrigation canals the need for producing clean energy and Resettlement Act, 2013, and
to mount and produce solar energy. and for this reason, several policies Environment Protection Act, 1986,
According to the Central Electricity have been enforced. Currently, over to address the issues of environment
Since the pumps are often of electricity, thus enabling urban exists a canal network of 80,000 km.
located at remote locations, and rural settlements to generate As per the estimation of the Gujarat
their own power. The generation at State Electricity Corporation Limited
this would also solve the remote consumption centres would (GSECL), even if 30 per cent of this
issue of transmission also enable the strengthening of the canal network is used for solar PV
of electricity as well as grid which in turn would improve the plant installation, it can generate up
strengthen the grid. This way, reliability of the power being supplied. to 18,000 MW of power and a saving
In addition, a lot of intangible of 90,000 acres of land. Similar large
the canal top becomes the
gains are also possible with the canal networks exist across the entire
best administrative model implementation of the project. country, ensuring a cost effective and
for community-scale solar Furthermore, there has been no smart model for generating energy.
powered water pumping/ disturbance to the ecology and Many other canal top plants have
village electrification habitation of the area near the canal been set up in India itself—a 10 MW
as well as the flora and fauna. The plant has been replicated in the city of
programme. Solar pumps
project has offered employment Vadodara in Gujarat (Picture 2), a 1 MW
no longer need to be opportunities to rural and urban plant has been set up in Karnataka,
installed in isolation since workers, working in both skilled and and a canal top plant has also been
they are susceptible to unskilled jobs on the site. Working on added in Andhra Pradesh.
the operation and maintenance of the It is pertinent to note at this
theft, mishandling, poor
plant would also help in generating juncture that similar canal networks
maintenance, etc. Canal top interest and in turn, earning more exist throughout the world. Also, the
offers better administrative projects in the future. possibilities to further implement
model. The authors believe this idea are endless. Recognizing its
that canal top solar PV Replication importance, the Government of India
has prepared the policy for absorbing
project has a very big role The canal top power plant presents
an amazing potential for replication. 100 MW of capacity addition through
to play in the smart city canal top solar projects. The first
The project is easy to begin as
programme, national solar very few approvals/clearances pilot project demonstrated by the
mission, and greater use of are required. Further, it offers a GSECL received the prestigious Prime
irrigation pumps. faster implementation period as Minister’s Award for Best Project in
no land acquisition/development Public Administration for the year 2015.
is required. Since irrigation canals
of the canal top solar power plant is
exist throughout India, it provides a Conclusion
that the energy generation is closer
fairly simple and economically viable The canal top solar power plant is an
to the point of consumption. This model for replication. In Gujarat innovative idea that efficiently utilizes
results in the minimization of the alone, where the pilot project is land and conserves water. It provides
transmission and distribution losses successfully implemented, there a better administrative model for
smart village, smart city, and irrigation
projects. Further, it can be developed
under the public private partnership
(PPP) mode. With declining cost
trends, canal top projects are
expected to acquire a larger share of
national solar targets. Large capacity
canal top solar parks may offer faster
and more economical deployment of
solar power projects in India.
Mr Om Shukla, Dr Sagarkumar M Agravat
(Email: sagar.a@germi.res.in), and Ms Narayani
Srivastava are at the Gujarat Energy Research &
Management Institute (GERMI), Gandhinagar,
Gujarat. Ms Bela B Jani and Mr Gurdeep Singh
are at the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation
Limited, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.