Harnessing floating solar power could help TN save ₹16,000 crore in 5 years, replace costly coal: Report

TAMIL Nadu can unlock savings of over ₹16,000 crore in five years by harnessing floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) systems across 57 major reservoirs, finds a new report by Climate Risk Horizons (CRH).

- SV KRISHNA CHAITANYA @ Chennai

The 3.5 GW FPV capacity could replace 1.68 GW of high-cost coal-based power from the ageing North Chennai and Thoothukudi thermal power plants.

The 57 large category dams chosen for analysis have a total surface area of 35,486 acres when their water levels are at their annual minimum. The analysis suggests that utilising just 40% of this minimum recorded water area would yield an installed capacity of 3.55 GW of FPV assuming a requirement of 4 acres/MW.

The report estimates that electricity from FPV would cost just ₹3.16 per unit - less than half the average tariff of state coal power plants, which stands at ₹7.12/kWh. This transition could save the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) ₹3,211 crore annually, providing much-needed relief to the debt-laden utility.