Ciel & Terre India, the subsidiary of French floating solar pioneer Ciel & Terre International completed the plant engineering, supply, and installation of floats, anchoring and mooring system, and the installation of73.4 MWp floating solar plant at National Thermal Power Corporation, Kayamkulam, Kerala. Ciel & Terre India has achieved a world record installation of 73.4 MWp in70 days-the fastest ever in floating solar history worldwide. This is also India’s first floating solar plant installed in brackish backwaters. The developer was NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation), and turn-key EPC was the renewable energy arm of the TATA group -TATA Power Solar.
1,69,641 number of ‘Made in India’ Hydrelio® aiR1280 floats were mounted with 1,47,042 number of 490/495 Wp TRINA make PV panels in 4 in a row configuration. 10 numbers of 5 MW Central investors were used. The anchoring installation was completed in a record of 80 days. 20 floating solar islands are spread over an area of 129 acres, covering 52.6% of the total water body. The generated power will be supplied to the grid and over 100,000 homes. The plant will reduce 9,26,71,427 tons of CO2 emissions.
Deepak Ushadevi, the MD & CEO, of Ciel & Terre India commented about the project as unique on its own as it is installed in the salty backwaters of the Arabian sea. "Our thorough R&D has enabled our floats to be sustainable in harsh, humid, and saline water conditions. We established our manufacturing unit near the project site in a record 5 months’ time, up and running, and this strategic placing of the manufacturing plant has accelerated project deliverables, ease of logistics, and saved a huge amount from transportation, and those benefits passed on to the customer. Also, despite the COVID crisis and extreme weather conditions / heavy rain & wind, we managed to complete the project in a record time. Assessing, Adapting, and momentum building was the key to our success.”
The patented Hydrelio® floats were manufactured and delivered in a record 5 months, despite the COVID crisis. As part of Ciel & Terre India’s contribution towards the ‘Make in India, made in India’ mission the floats were locally manufactured in their on-site manufacturing unit having an annual production capacity of 300 MW.
Deepak added, “A sense of purpose is a critical asset especially during times of disruption & uncertainty during the lockdown, COVID19, raw material shortage, commodity inflation, etc. Our efforts were productive since passion and perseverance made this project viable. As we leapt from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset during all challenges, we strategized and streamlined our installation process accordingly, which helped us in completing the project within a record timeline. Site specifications were fully validated to the core of design suites to negate those challenges since high humidity & saline conditions were prone to corrosion."
"We hope this project strategy will change the current outlook of the industry on floating PV and encourage them to trust that floating solar is a more sustainable, viable, and accessible alternative when compared to other conventional renewable energy sources. Floating solar is influencing the economic/ environmental/ social sector better than other conventional renewable energy models,” added Deepak Ushadevi.
Earlier, Ciel & Terre India had commissioned 3 unique floating solar projects in Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu with capacities of452 kWp, 5.4 MWp, and 14.7 MWp, respectively. Over the last 4 years, Ciel & Terre India has added6 projects under its portfolio with a cumulative capacity of115+ MWp, omitting over 12,94,00,000 tons of CO2 emissions. With a decade-long experience, intensive R&D, sustainable approach, and the promising Hydrelio®, Ciel & Terre are leading the Indian floating solar revolution.
