The Canal Solar Power Project is a solar canal project launched in Gujarat, India, to use the Template:Convert long network of Narmada canals across the state for setting up solar panels to generate electricity.[1] The first such project in India, it has been commissioned by SunEdison India.[2]
Inauguration of pilot project
On 24 April 2012 Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat, inaugurated a 1 Megawatt (MW) pilot project covering Template:Convert of the canal.[1] The project is situated on the Narmada branch canal near Chandrasan village of Kadi taluka in Mehsana district.
In addition to generating 1 MW[3] of clean energy the pilot project will also prevent evaporation of Template:Convert of water annually from the canal. The project eliminates the need to acquire vast tracts of land for installing solar panels and limits evaporation of water.[4] tackling two challenges simultaneously by providing energy and water security.[1]
Engineering and construction
The engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project was awarded to SunEdison at a cost of Template:INRConvert. The pilot project was developed on a 750-meter stretch of the canal by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL) with support from Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. (SSNNL), which owns and maintains the canal network.
The cost per megawatt of solar power, in this case, was much less than regular solar power plants, as the two banks of the canal will be used to cover the canal by installing solar power panel and the government did not have to spend much on creating basic infrastructure, including land acquisition .
Gujarat has about Template:Convert of open main canal, while the total canal length, including sub-branches, is about Template:Convert at present. When completed, the SSNNL's canal network will be about Template:Convert long.
Assuming a utilization of only 10% of the existing canal network of Template:Convert, it is estimated that 2,200 MW of solar power generating capacity can be installed by covering the canals with solar panels.
This also implies that Template:Convert of land can be potentially conserved along with about 20 billion liters of water saved per year.[5]
Praise for the project
Then Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah praised Gujarat's Canal Solar Power Project saying,[4]Template:Cquote
Abdullah said Damodar Valley Corporation, which has over Template:Convert of canals, will follow Gujarat's lead and mount solar panels that can generate up to 1,000 MW.
As a pilot the project has been successful and has caused similar projects to be started elsewhere, e.g. a 2.5 MW installation over the Sidhwan Canal in Punjab[6] and a project to cover Delhi's Munak canal.[7]
See also
- Electricity sector in India
- Renewable energy in India
- Gujarat Solar Park
- Sakri PV solar energy project
- Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
- Dhirubhai Ambani Solar Park
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Now, Gujarat to cover Narmada canals with solar panels!. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ↑ Solar power cells on Narmada canal to light up rural homes. DNA. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
- ↑ Narmada canals can give 2,200 MW of solar power, Pandit, Virendra. Business Line(12 March 2018).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Damodar Valley to replicate Gujarat's canal-top solar plant. Business Standard India(22 May 2012). Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ↑ State pulls off rare feat in reaping Sun, saving water. ExpressIndia. Retrieved 24 April 2012.Template:Dead link
- ↑ Solar plant on Sidhwan generated ‘powerful’ success story for Ludhiana. timesofindia.indiatimes.com(2017-12-31). Retrieved 2025-08-23.
- ↑ Delhi government plans to cover Munak Canal with solar panels. timesofindia.indiatimes.com(2025-07-06). Retrieved 2025-08-23.