The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has planned to install a 500 MW solar PV plant at Kalaladi, located in Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu, the Hindu has reported.
The project will be supported by Central government under solar power parks program. Already, an amount of INR 1,5 million has been sanctioned for the preparation of the detailed project report.
This will be the largest solar power plant to be installed by a utility company in India.
Initially, the location was allocated for the 4 GW coal-fired thermal power plant. However, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change struck down the proposal, as the three possible sites identified for the project came under the buffer zone of the Marine National Park of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve.
Later, TANGEDCO proposed ecological options for the feasibility of the project. However, the EAC rejected the proposal.
