NHPC, GEDCOL sign MoU to develop 500 MW floating solar in Odisha

The two entities shall form a joint venture to plan and develop an aggregate 500 MW of floating solar capacity in a phased manner, preferably in 50 MW packages, in the state.

July 21, 2020 Uma Gupta

Indian reservoirs could host 280 GW of floating solar, according to sustainability thinktank The Energy and Resources Institute.

Image: Ciel et Terre

State-run hydro power producer NHPC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Limited (GEDCOL) to develop an aggregate 500 MW of floating solar projects in the state.

The two entities shall form a joint venture to set up the capacity in a phased manner, preferably in 50 MW packages.

The capacity shall be developed under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Parks (UMREPP) Scheme.

“Parties [NHPC and GEDCOL] may collaborate and cooperate to form a joint venture company (JVC) to plan and develop techno-commercially feasible floating solar power projects of 500 MW in Odisha under UMREPPs scheme of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy), in a phased manner, preferably in packages of 50 MW each,” NHPC stated in a Bombay Stock Exchange filing.

NHPC and GEDCOL also agreed to explore further potential of installing floating solar projects after joint identification in subsequent periods in Odisha.

The government of Odisha plans to develop around 500 MW of floating solar power plants on various reservoirs in the state in collaboration with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, shared power minister R.K. Singh in Parliament earlier this year.

Odisha has the potential of generating 17,755 MW of electricity from floating solar over 877 sq.km of water surface area in its reservoirs, according to a report by sustainability thinktank The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

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