Power plants Renewable energy

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As part of the Renewable Energy Power Plant project, the construction of a solar park with an installed capacity of 125 MW in the state of West Bengal in northern India is being promoted. Sufficiently large areas for such plants are extremely scarce in this state with its high population density and intensive agriculture. The plant is therefore being built on a piece of land that was used for salt production in previous decades and is now largely unused, directly on the coast south of Kolkata. The electricity from the solar park will be supplied to households and companies in West Bengal. The plant will make efficient use of the high levels of solar radiation at the site and will not produce any greenhouse gas emissions. KfW is supporting the project sponsor in preparing the project and has promised a low-interest loan for the construction of the solar park. Since the conditions at the location are sometimes challenging, preparing the project is a complex task. A high salinity in the soil and strong storms, which the solar park must withstand over its entire lifespan of 25 years, are among the factors that make the project exceptional. To make the system more resilient, the solar modules were aligned east-west, an arrangement that has not yet been tried in India. The partner organization, the regional electricity company, is providing the land and the infrastructure for connecting to the power grid. To do this, it is building a high-voltage line with a length of over 20 km. This will enable the electrical energy generated to be fed into the power grid with as little loss as possible. The solar park will save up to 163,000 t of CO2 equivalents annually compared to the predominantly conventional power plants otherwise common in India. This project can therefore reduce India's dependence on raw material imports and contribute to reducing climate change.