Spreading over 77 square kilometres of land, the plant could be well compared to four full-size nuclear reactors. This project, to be built near Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan, is a joint venture of six state-owned companies including BHEL, Solar Energy Corporation of India, Powergrid Corporation of India, Hindustan Salts Limited and Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited.
Official figure states that this solar photovoltaic power plant is estimated to supply 6.4 billion kilowatt-hours per year for a span of 25 long years. The venture will cost around USD 4.4 billion and take seven years to complete.
Effect on weather
Sources from New Delhi's Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) state that this venture could reduce India's carbon dioxide emissions by more than four million tonnes per year.
India’s grid-connected solar-power capacity grew from 17.8 megawatts in 2010 to 2,208 megawatts in present day. The Indian government backed by other state governments started the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to promote ecologically sustainable growth. The solar drive initiated by this project aims to take the country to an installed capacity of 20,000 megawatts by 2022.
Criticism
According to media reports, environmentalists do not seem to be excited about the project. Deputy director-general of the think tank center for Science and Environment in New Delhi, Chandra Bhushan believes that "feeding 4,000 megawatts into an already leaking grid where 20% of electricity gets wasted in transmission and distribution losses and [most] ends up feeding the urban centres makes little sense."
picture courtesy- firstpost