Floating Solar and India’s Clean Energy Transition

Context

The Union Cabinet approved a scheme called Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY) of ₹5,070 crore to implement 5,000 MW of floating solar projects with energy storage. The key parameters listed are Central Financial Assistance of ₹1 crore per MW, minimum 2 hours battery storage, inland water reservoirs utilization.

Overview

• Objective: Under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the initiative aims to scale up floating solar power.
• Budgetary Support: The total outlay for Projects is ₹ 5,070 crore.
• Timeline: Implementation will occur in the period of FY 2026-27 through FY 2030-31.
• Scope: PAN-India coverage, extending to all States and UTs.

Key Features and Financial Assistance

• Target: Targets to increase Floating Solar PV (FSPV) capacity to 5,000 MW by 2030.
• Battery Storage (ESS): Storage co-located with at least 2 hours for grid stability, necessary for battery storage.
• CFA Structure:
  • The amount of Rs. 1 crore per MW given at commissioning.
  • The amount of pre-feasibility studies is limited to ₹50 lakh per project.
• Investment Mobilization: It is expected that it would mobilise around ₹28,500 crore of private investment.

Advantages of Floating Solar

• Water Conservation: Allows for the use of available water sources, reducing the issue of land acquisition.
• Improved PV Panel Efficiency: Water cooling increases PV panel efficiency and minimises thermal degradation.
• Environmental Advantage: Lowers water body evaporation and reduces CO₂ emissions by almost 10 million tonnes a year.
• Employment: Supports domestic manufacturing (floats, PV panels, batteries) and provides approximately 16,000-17,000 positions.

Why India Needs Floating Solar

The majority of solar power installations in India are concentrated in states with plenty of land, such as Rajasthan and Gujarat, in the commercial market for power generation. FSPV technology shifts the energy geography due to distinct structural factors: 

• Tapping Latent Technical Potential: The National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) pegs India’s inland water body floating solar potential at 102.18 GWp. India is only utilising 700 MW (0.7 GW) so far. 
• Addressing land bottlenecks: Solar blocks on the ground are large and continuous fields of agriculture or grazing land. FSPV takes advantage of state owned reservoirs, canals and industrial ponds. This completely avoids long delays associated with the acquisition of land, resettlement and rehabilitation. 

Economic Impacts and Self-Reliance 

• Job Creation: PM-SSY is expected to create approximately 16,000-17,000 FTE jobs in the manufacturing, engineering, and operational value chains. 
• Industrial Catalysis: The architecture enforces domestic sourcing compliance via the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) frameworks. This directly increases the capacity of domestic manufacture of advanced PV cells, specialized floating modules and chemical storage batteries for grid applications. 
• Investment Leverage: The initial corpus of ₹ 5,070 crore is designed to bring in an additional investment of more than ₹ 28,500 crore from private and institutional investors. 

Source: The Hindu

UPSC Prelims Practice Question 

Q. With reference to floating solar power projects in India, consider the following statements:

1. Floating solar plants can help reduce competition for land with agriculture and other uses.
2. They can potentially reduce evaporation from the water surface.
3. Floating solar projects cannot be integrated with battery energy storage systems.
4. Inland reservoirs can be utilised for setting up floating solar projects.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

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