- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Sun Salutations: India Nears Completion of World’s Largest Solar Park

© AP Photo / Ajit SolankiIndian laborers work near solar panels at the Gujarat Solar Park at Charanka in Patan district, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Ahmadabad, India. (File)
Indian laborers work near solar panels at the Gujarat Solar Park at Charanka in Patan district, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Ahmadabad, India. (File) - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The single largest solar park in the world, with a maximum capacity of 1,000 megawatts, is nearing completion in India. The nine-square-mile Kurnal Ultra Mega Solar Park, which has cost 70 billion rupees ($1.09 billion) of both public and private money to construct, contains 4 million solar modules.

The park is located in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh state, which in recent years has distinguished itself as the solar power capital of India. It is a joint endeavor of India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation, a private venture company mostly owned by government corporations.

Construction of the park began in December 2016, and it is expected to be fully operational in May. Already, 900 of the park's 1,000 MW capacity has been implemented. Kurnal Ultra has single-handedly made Andhra Pradesh the Indian state with the highest solar power capacity, 1,867 MW. In second place is Rajasthan with 1,812 MW.

Workers clean photovoltaic panels inside a solar power plant in Gujarat, India (File) - Sputnik International
Asia
Solar Power Now Costs as Much as Thermal Power In India

Renewable power activists and energy industry professionals alike are impressed with the speed and efficiency of the Kurnal Ultra project. Bids for the project in April 2015, and only two years later the project is nearing completion.

"This means that the solar park model is working," said P. Vinay Kumar, COO of Greeniko Energies, which is building another solar power park in Andhra Pradesh. "We are able to scale up capacities faster. Also, the IPPs [independent power producers] are unburdened of the responsibility of land acquisition and constructing evacuation infrastructure, the activities that governments are better at doing."

"We have reached a tipping point in energy pricing and the scale is tilting in favour of solar over conventional fuel based power generation. Since it is commercial attractiveness that will drive demand in future, the clean energy capacity targets may no longer be prime drivers of demand. If the price trend continues, solar energy may take centre stage in the power mix," Kumar said to India Climate Dialogue.

Along with Kurnal Ultra, three other large solar power parks are planned for construction in Andhra Pradesh: Ananthapuram I and II (500 MW each) and Kadapa Ultra Mega Solar Park at 1,000 MW. Kadapa is expected to be operational in 2018.

These parks are part of an Indian initiative to reach 100,000 MW in solar capacity in 2022.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала