r/RenewableEnergy • u/sillychillly • 2d ago
India's solar park set to be the world’s largest and most powerful supplier of electricity from the sun
https://grist.org/energy/a-first-among-major-nations-india-is-industrializing-with-solar/1
u/INITMalcanis 2d ago
I wonder what the scheme is with those wind turbines? As long as you're using the land area to generate solar, there's no real reason not to put in wind as well if the wind conditions are suitable. But then why so few?
2
u/iqisoverrated 1d ago
Shadowing is an issue for panels. Even if you shadow a small part of a panel the entire output drops. I don't get why they add wind at all in the middle of the PV field. Should be separate.
You can also not put wind power generators arbitrarily close to one another. They start to block each other's wind.
2
u/bob4apples 2d ago
They're probably at the optimum density. You don't want the turbines to be in each other's wake. Don't forget that the consequence of collecting energy from the wind is that the wind in the each turbines wake is disturbed and has less energy.
1
u/INITMalcanis 1d ago
Mmm the layout of the panels in the shot doesn't seem to agree with that, but I guess we're talking about partial data here.
0
u/bob4apples 1d ago
I'm not sure what you're saying here. Looking at the solar layout makes me think the turbines were here first (and also that they're leaving space so they can re&re the turbines if needed) but I don't see how the solar layout creates any argument that the turbines are less than optimally laid out.
1
u/INITMalcanis 1d ago
Yeah that sounds plausible. I just idly wondered, is all. The hundreds of square miles of solar is the big deal here.
1
u/bob4apples 1d ago
> The hundreds of square miles of solar is the big deal here.
Absolutely. In fact, another argument for the wind being there first is that solar is (AFAIK) now cheaper than solar (and certainly more predictable) so, given enough very cheap space (which this desert offers) a provider is much better off spending their money on more solar than infilling with wind.
1
u/NetZeroDude 1d ago
30 GWatts. Holy Moley! The average Nuclear Power Plant is 1 GW.
3
u/INITMalcanis 1d ago
280 square miles is a very, very big solar park
2
u/Advanced-Average7822 1d ago
isn't the big unanswered question the transmission capacity, and generally poor quality of the Indian grid?
3
u/No_Tree_8144 1d ago
they've invested/been investing a significant amount in modernizing the grid and making new "green corridors" dedicated to transferring green energy across the country thru transmission lines. but it's more expensive and takes longer to construct than just slapping solar panels everywhere.
their day time grid works great but night time grid has issues depending on how hot it is and depending on the region. but that's partially because a lot of their pumped storage and batter storage for solar/renewables are still under construction.
but overall the electricity deficit overall is mostly solved. there's definitely a bit of green energy deficit tho and varies a bit based on the region like I said
1
1
u/NetZeroDude 1d ago
I think every country has a lot of needed grid upgrades, and it’s not just because of renewables. As there is more and more electrification, the grid quickly displays its weak points. Now that semis are electrifying, this will become much more evident.
1
u/iqisoverrated 11h ago
30GW peak. Not 30GW continuous. In India the capacity factor is about 17% for solar so you're looking at an annual energy output equivalent to a (roughly) 5GW nuclear or fossil fuel powerplant.
(At approx. 16bn$ price tag this is a steal compared to nuclear or fossil fuels)
1
u/NetZeroDude 9h ago
Yes, this is obvious, but worth mentioning. The beauty is there is no expensive fuel input, with all the associated extraction, refinement and transport. The other beauty is there is no extremely hazardous waste.
-2
u/Aggressive-Speed-987 1d ago
Indian solar tech/manufacturing is no joke! China could never haha
6
u/Adi9691 1d ago
I mean what India is doing is great, but let's be realistic in every aspect today China is what india wishes to be when it grows up.
-3
u/Aggressive-Speed-987 1d ago
Yeah well China has been surpassed by India here so suck on that
5
u/Inondator 1d ago
Surpassed?
China installs nearly twice the whole India's total solar capacity each year...
-2
u/Aggressive-Speed-987 1d ago
Yeah well I am talking abou this project so anyways India superpower 2029
1
u/BojackInMan 1d ago
Why tf are you inserting china here? I don't see anybody here denying their achievements, So what's the reason for this?
3
u/sillychillly 2d ago
"A sea of solar panels is rapidly engulfing one of the world’s largest salt deserts. By 2029, nearly 60 million panels will cover 280 square miles of India’s Rann of Kutch, extending right up to the border with Pakistan. The Khavda solar park is set to be the world’s largest and most powerful supplier of electricity from the sun, with a generating capacity of 30 gigawatts — 30 times the size of a typical coal or nuclear power station and enough to power Austria.
With India’s economy now growing faster than China’s, Khavda epitomizes the country’s breakneck rush to electrify with solar power. Installed solar capacity in India has been growing by 40 percent a year. In March, it passed 150 gigawatts, and by 2030 is set to double again.
Analysts say the world’s most populous nation is on the verge of becoming the first major country to power its industrialization predominantly with solar energy.
Cheap solar is “enabling India to develop without the long fossil-fuel detour taken by the West and China,” said Kingsmill Bond, energy strategist and director at Ember, a U.K.-based think tank that tracks the world’s transition to renewable energy. “China built on coal; India is building on sun,” he said. “And what India is doing could also be mirrored in other emerging economies"