Ciel & Terre completes 73.4 MWp of India’s largest floating solar plant

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Ciel & Terre completed a 73.4 MWp portion of the massive 101.6 MWp floating solar installation at Kayamkulam in Kerala. It set a world record by completing this installation in 70 days–the fastest ever in floating solar history worldwide. The plant is purportedly India’s first floating solar project installed in brackish backwaters.

State-run power producer NTPC is the project developer, and Tata Power Solar the EPC provider.

Ciel & Terre India’s scope of work included plant engineering, supply and installation of floats, anchoring and mooring system, and floating PV installation up to the DC part.

The plant uses Ciel & Terre’s proprietary Hydrelio aiR 1280 floats to support the solar panels. 1,69,641 Hydrelio aiR 1280 floats were mounted with 1,47,042 of 490/495 Wp Trina PV panels in ‘4 in a row’ configuration–spanning an area of 129 acres and covering 52.6% of the total water body. The installation uses ten 5 MW central inverters.

Ciel & Terre manufactured and delivered its Hydrelio floats in a record five months’ timeline, despite the Covid crisis. It manufactured the floats locally at its on-site manufacturing unit, having an annual production capacity of 300 MW. This strategic placing of the manufacturing plant accelerated project deliverables and saved a huge amount in transportation.

The plant will supply power generated to the grid and power over 100,000 homes, helping to offset 9,26,71,427 tons of CO2 emissions.

“This project is unique on its own as it is installed on salty backwaters of the Arabian sea. Our thorough R&D has enabled our floats to be sustainable in harsh, humid, and saline water conditions,” said Deepak Ushadevi, MD and CEO, Ciel & Terre India. “Also, despite the Covid crisis and extreme weather conditions (heavy rain and wind), we managed to complete the project in a record time.”

Earlier, Ciel & Terre India had commissioned three unique floating solar projects in Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu with capacities of 452 kWp, 5.4 MWp, and 14.7 MWp, respectively. Over the last four years, it has added six projects under its portfolio with a cumulative capacity of 115+ MWp.

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