India will build prototype floating solar power station

Will be tested at the pond of Victoria Memorial.

The prototype of India's first floating solar power station in Kolkata will serve as a template for full-scale floating solar power stations that could be set up in water reservoirs and dams of hydroelectric power stations. It should be able to generate 10 KW of power and will require an area of around 100 square meters.

The back-up research-work on developing the prototype is almost complete and the expert team intends to commission the prototype by 2014. The team is headed by Dr. SP Gon Choudhury, an international expert in solar energy and the brain behind the project.

The concept means outfitting a floating platform with power generating equipment such as solar panels. These floating solar panels will generate far more electricity than land based solar panels.

Studies have also shown that if the rear surfaces of the solar panels are kept cooler, their ability to generate power increases by 16%. As these solar panels will be floating on water, they are expected to stay cool and can generate more power than those set up on land.

Analysts said developing a floating solar power station would prove to be a revolutionary step since it could solve the perennial problem of land availability. Similar pilot projects are also going on in France and Australia.