Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV): A Third Pillar to Solar PV Sector?

A new report by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has found that India's reservoirs have 18,000 sq. km of area with the potential to generate 280 GW of solar power through floating solar photovoltaic (PV) plants.

The report 'Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV): A Third Pillar to Solar PV Sector?' has been produced by TERI, as part of the Energy Transmission Commission (ETC) India. ETC India is a research platform based in TERI, New Delhi. It is the Indian chapter of the global Energy Transitions Commission, which is co-chaired by Lord Adair Turner and Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI.

The findings of the report, which was released during the recently held World Sustainable Development Summit 2020, have the potential to help in planning out the strategies for achieving overall capacity addition in solar energy in India. The report has calculated the potential for floating solar photovoltaics (FSPVs), or 'floatovoltaics', on the basis of 30% of the water surface area of the country's medium and large reservoirs.