PVTIME – Ciel & Terre India, a subsidiary of Ciel & Terre International, has successfully completed the 14.7 MWp floating solar power plant at Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC) Limited’s water storage pond in its Thoothukudi plant.
C&T’s patented Hydrelio Equato floats, which were locally manufactured under the “Make in India” campaign, were used to mount the 37,632 photovoltaic panels that cover an area of 15.6 hectares.
C&T India Managing Director, Deepak Ushadevi said, “A captive project like this will benefit the industry from a competitive price compared to the grid and we can replicate the same model on other industrial reservoirs such as steel, thermal, fertilizers, cement, chemical, etc. Since we have high valued investors to finance similar projects, industries should utilize such benefits.”
“Over the years, Ciel & Terre has gained vast expertise and strong experience in the installation of large-scale floating PV plants on artificial and freshwater reservoirs, our team has a thorough understanding of floating PV’s challenges and accordingly assisted our SPIC customer in the realization of the biggest floating plant in this country despite the COVID-19 pandemic challenges, this demonstrated our valued commitment and capabilities,” Ushadevi added.
In 2019, C&T India commissioned its first 452 kWp pilot project at CIAL Cochin, followed by a second 5.4 MWp project at the Sagardighi thermal power plant last year which the biggest grid-connected floating plant in India at the time. Presently, C&T India is executing a mega floating project up to 75 MWp in South India which is expected to be put into commission by October 2021.
C&T India Chairman, Stephane Provoust said, “We are fully devoted to floating PV and our track record makes the company become the most experienced group in ‘Floating PV’, especially thanks to ‘all-in-one’ solutions and high quality of services.”