Touted as India's largest, this floating solar power project generates 42M units per year

Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation Limited (SPIC), a private company inaugurated and fully operationalised what is being touted as India's largest floating solar power plant. Situated in the SPIC factory's premises in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, this 48-acre floating solar power plant has been set up on a large water reservoir that spans 62-acres. 

Capable of generating 42 million units of power per year, the plant is meant to cater to the energy needs of the SPIC and Greenstar fertilisers factories.

Constructed at a cost of Rs.150.4 crores, SPIC worked with France-based floating solar power specialists and global leader Ceil & Terre to design, engineer, and anchor the floating islands and the supply floats. 

EDAC Engineering Ltd, another company of the AM international group, undertook the plant's construction. 

In addition, advanced high-capacity inverters of 3.25 MW have been installed to improve the plant's reliability and reduce losses, said the company.

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According to the company, the 25.3 MW DC / 22 MW AC floating solar power plant project aligns with their strategy to implement new-age green, sustainable technology and self-sufficient captive energy generation. In floating solar power plants, the solar arrays are placed on floating structures on a water body. 

This is said to reduce the evaporation of water by a significant extent (up to 60 per cent). It also generates more power owing to the cooling effect (lower temperature) offered by the water.

Inaugurating the plant, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said, "The demand for clean power is the need of the hour, and Tamil Nadu currently holds the capacity to generate more than 15,500 MW of renewable energy. The government of Tamil Nadu is focused on environmentally sustainable projects. The establishment of a similar facility in the existing dams and water reservoirs in the state would lead to the generation of more renewable power as well as conserving water and minimising the scarce agriculture land being used for establishing solar power generating facility".

Top officials of SPIC said that the group is continuously working towards effectively harnessing green energies through innovative projects to reduce carbon footprint. We are glad to be at the forefront of India’s and Tamil Nadu’s march towards clean energy, they added.