PANAJI
In what could give the Goa government further impetus to its efforts to go solar, a climate think tank Climate Risk Horizons has estimated that the State can save as much as Rs 264-crore per year in power costs if it can set up floating solar panels in five of the State’s man-made reservoirs viz. Amtonem, Anjunem, Chapoli, Panchwadi and Selaulim.
To estimate the total savings, the think tank considered covering only 20% of the reservoir area with floating photovoltaic cells so as to manage any possible impacts on the reservoir’s ecosystem and reduce obstruction to existing activities such as fisheries, navigation, etc and estimated a cost of Rs 3.16 per kWh based on the costs of a similar project installed and operating in Kerala by the NTPC.
“We have estimated that just 5 man-made reservoirs in Goa can host as much as 426 MW of solar. The resulting tariff would be much lower than what Goa is currently paying for electricity from coal power plants in other states,” said Harshit Sharma of Climate Risk Horizons.
“This floating solar would deliver electricity at a lower average cost, resulting in savings for the State. In addition, replacing other more expensive coal power purchases with renewable energy from nearby states would deliver further savings. A total savings of Rs 264 cr per year are possible by replacing the most expensive coal contracts with renewable energy from a mix of floating solar and inter-state contracts,” Harshit Sharma of Climate Risk Horizons, said.
Goa is currently buying power from the national grid “ mainly from thermal power plants generated using coal “ at the cost of Rs 5-6 per unit, which is then supplied to the end user at a subsidised rate.
The floating solar potential considered in this analysis is limited to five man-made reservoirs listed below. But the scope of FPV in Goa may not be limited to reservoirs, it can also be expanded to abandoned mining pits which the State government is already considering for FPV or Pumped Hydro Storage, and it can also provide a distributed energy solution for private or community ownership in smaller water bodies, giving local individuals and communities a direct stake in State’s energy generation. If we take into account all the lentic water bodies available in the State, the potential capacity would be much higher, but this analysis restricts itself to larger man-made reservoirs.
“In total, replacing the most expensive coal power purchases with a mix of in-state floating solar and out-of-state renewable energy purchases would enable Goa to take the share of renewables in its energy mix to 48%, at considerable savings,” Sharma said.
Earlier Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar had said that the State was examining the possibility of setting up floating solar panels in abandoned mining pits as part of a push to ensure a 50% power by renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2050.
The uptake of rooftop solar installations has been low despite a 50% subsidy being offered. The low power tariff in the State has served as a move to discourage citizens from taking up the rooftop solar scheme in Goa launched three years ago in 2019 “ since the time taken to breakeven on one’s investment is six to seven years unlike in states in Gujarat and Maharashtra where higher tariff for domestic users means that a return on one’s investment can be recovered within a span of two to three years.
Despite being a small State with significant renewable energy potential, Goa remains dependent on coal power for over 75% of its electricity requirements. Power is being purchased at a rate higher than it is being sold to the domestic consumer.
