The officials confirmed that to address the issue of electricity and multiple power generation, a floating solar power plant will be installed in Khandwa with the capacity to generate 600 MW of power in 2022–23 in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
The project involves a sum of Rs. 3000 crores and is going to be the world’s largest floating solar plant.
Sanjay Dubey, secretary of the Renewable Energy Department, said, “Omkareshwar Dam is built on the Narmada river. This is our hydel project, and in this we produce energy from water, but it is spread over about 100 square kilometres. There is a very large body of water where the water level remains normal. “
Additionally, he said, “We will have a PPA of 300 MW. So we gave a little bit of leverage, perhaps a little more or less depending on the requirement, so instead of 300, we are doing PPA in the first phase of 278 MM.”
Dubey explained that with the implementation of this project, Khandwa district will become the first district in Madhya Pradesh to have thermal power plants that utilise both solar and hydro energy.
The Secretary of the Department of Renewable Energy said, “In the next phase, we have called for tenders for 300 MW more, so this will be the world’s largest project, which will be called floating solar.”
With approximately 4,000MW of power to be produced from a single district, Khandwa will become the only district in the state to have all three items, including solar, hydel, and thermal.