Tata Power Solar has unveiled India’s largest floating solar power installation in Kerala’s backwaters

The largest floating solar power facility in India, with an installed capacity of 101.6 Megawatt Peak, has been put into operation in Kayamkulam, Kerala, on a 350-acre water body and backwaters area.

The wholly-owned Tata Power subsidiary finished the installation in the allocated time despite several issues with varying water depths, powerful sea tides, and significant water salinity concerns encountered throughout the project’s construction period.

Tata Power Solar built a scaffolding platform on the body of water in order to make the entire solar facility float there. The first project of its kind is the Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV) through Power Purchase Agreement. A platform for floating inverters with a 5 Megawatt (MW) capacity is available at this site.

This 101.6 MWp capacity solar plant’s large-scale installation and commissioning were the quickest in the FSPV category, earning it a Commercial Operation Date (CoD) certification, which shows that the project has been judged finished and operating.

The entire project is anchored to the waterbed of the Kerala backwaters by 134 cast pile foundations that are bored to a depth of 20 metres underwater and support the Central Monitoring and Control Stations (CMCS) and the 33/220 kilovolts switchyard. Underwater soil stratum dredging was used to complete all of this, and high groundwater levels acted as a barrier.

The solar modules were pulled for three kilometres on a sea-linked, 15-meter-deep national waterway while being subjected to fierce gusts and gushing tides that frequently reached a height of about 3.5 metres. In order to operationalize the project, the Tata Power Solar execution team was successful in synchronising the 33/220 Kilovolts Air Insulated Substation (AIS) with the 220 Kilovolts Existing Gas Insulated Substation (GIS).

Speaking about this remarkable feat, Dr. Praveer Sinha, CEO, and MD, Tata Power, said, “The commissioning of India’s first and largest floating solar project is an innovative and incremental step toward meeting India’s sustainable energy goals. We are incredibly proud of our team’s unrelenting efforts in delivering this unique solar project that floats atop a large waterbody.”