India: Dhule solar power plant to be operational from March 20

The Dhule solar power plant which is expected to generate 150 MW power is likely to be made operational from March 20 this year.

The first phase would add 50 MW power to the state grid, said government officials.

The solar panels spread over 350 hectares of barren land will have ‘thin film’ and ‘crystalline’ technology based photovoltaic cells. The aim is to maximize the output from the solar panels. The efficiency of the power panels is 20% of the total heat absorption. The project was delayed by one year because of the dispute between the state revenue and forest department. Later the dispute was resolved and the project was cleared.

 

Dhule, in north Maharashtra, is known for dry land, bright sunlight and high solar radiation, mainly because its proximity to the tropic of cancer. The Maharashtra state power generation company limited (MSPGCL) has already announced that the Dhule plant would be the first solar power project that will be connected to the national grid.

 

A German investment bank KFW has given 250 million euros (Rs 1,600 crore) for this project. The state power generation company has awarded the contract to construct and install the power plant to Lanco Infra, Megha Engineering and Prithvi Infra.

 

Data received from National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( Nasa) about radiation from solar rays revealed that Dhule will have maximum days with bright sunlight and heat for better power generation as it falls in the same line of radiation level as Rajasthan and Gujarat.

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