India Plans to Construct World's Largest Solar Plant
India has released plans to build the world’s largest solar plant, reported Nature earlier this month. Six state-owned companies have formed a joint venture to construct the plant, which would triple India’s solar capacity and dwarf existing photovoltaic arrays.
Under the current plan, the facility will generate 4,000 megawatts, which is more than ten times more powerful than any solar project built in India to date. After its completion, the plant will use 77 square kilometers of land, larger than the island of Manhattan. The facility is projected to be completed in seven years at a cost of $4.4 billion. The government expects the power plant to have an estimated life of 25 years and to reduce India’s carbon dioxide emissions by more than 4 million tons each year.
In recent years, the production cost of solar power in India has more than halved, from 17 rupees per kilo-watt hour ($0.27) three years ago to the current cost of 7.5 rupees ($0.12) per kilo-watt hour (kWh). However, these costs are still significantly higher than the production cost of coal, which is 2.5 rupees ($0.04) per kWh.
Some environmentalists, such as the New Delhi think tank Center for Science and Environment, have criticized the solar project in favor of a decentralized solar approach that involves multiple smaller projects spread over rural areas. The Center for Science and Environment believes that such a decentralized approach would have a far greater reach and larger social benefit, especially since the grid allegedly wastes 20 percent of electricity in transmission and distribution losses and less than 50 percent of Indians living in villages have access to electricity. To maximize productivity and renewable energy development in India, the director-general of the Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi advocates for progress to be made on both the large-scale and decentralized approaches.
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