Vishakhapatnam Gets Floating Solar Power Plant, Drone Captures Stunning Visuals

The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) commissioned a floating solar power plant on the Meghadri Gedda reservoir in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on Friday. The power plant is built on 12 acres of land and can produce 4.2 million units of power every year, GVMC Commissioner G Lakshmisha told the news agency ANI. The official also added that this floating solar power plant will save 54,000 tonnes of coal reducing emissions by 3,022 tonnes per year. The GVMC also provided amazing drone footage of the floating power plant to ANI.

This move comes weeks after India’s largest floating solar plant became fully operational at Ramagundam in the Peddapalli district of Telangana. The 100 megawatt (MW) plant was set up by energy conglomerate National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) through Bharat Heavy Electrics (BHEL) as Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract.

According to an official statement, this plant is endowed with advanced technology as well as environment friendly features. The project spread over 500 acres of its reservoir has been built with a financial implication of ₹423 crore.

NTPC had also earlier declared the commercial operation of 92 MW Floating Solar at Kayamkulam (Kerala) and 25 MW Floating Solar at Simhadri (Andhra Pradesh).

Solar plants or solar farms can either be mounted on the ground or set up on the surface of a water body. The farms floating on water bodies are a little more expensive than those on the land surface but they come with their own benefits.

They reduce the evaporation rates from water bodies and help in water conservation. Another environmental advantage is that these solar modules require minimum land. The water body underneath the solar modules helps in maintaining their ambient temperature, thereby improving their efficiency and generation.

Keywords: Floating Solar Power Plant, Solar Power Plant, GVMC Floating Power Plant, Meghadri Gedda Reservoir, Visakhapatnam Floating Power Plant

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