Gujarat to set up solar highways

After setting up the innovative canal solar power projects, Gujarat will set up the first ‘solar highway’ in India. The idea is to cover major roads and highways with elevated platforms which will be fitted with solar modules to generate power, according to a report.

Scientists at the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) have proposed a pilot solar power project to connect major Gujarat state highways. Through computer simulation scientists believe that a solar roof cover on the 205-km Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway can generate 104 megawatts of power, an IANS report said.

Scientists have stimulated the solar power generation potential for other major state and national highways as well which include, 93-km Ahmedabad-Vadodara highway to generate 61 MW solar power;  5,839-km Golden Quadrilateral Highway that connects the four Indian metropolitan cities which can host 4,418 MW through solar roof cover and 7,300-km North-South-East-West Corridor highway which runs across the length and breadth of India can be covered with 5,524 MW of solar power capacity. 

India plans to achieve 22,000 MW of installed solar power capacity. While the price of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules remains relatively low, the price of land has not come down as much as it is a highly limited and contentious resource. Thus, the scientists at GERMI have proposed that the space above the vast network of roads in the country be used for solar power generation. They also propose that such a project works well if it could be extended to the country’s railway network too.

Project developers in Gujarat and neighbouring Rajasthan have faced problems commissioning their projects due to lack of transmission lines. Most of the transmission lines in India are located parallel to the road network, thus, the problem of transmission and the cost involved would reduce significantly. The cost of land would also be relatively minimal.

A measure of the power generated could be used for lighting the roads as well as supplying power to other infrastructure located along the highways. Areas along the highways are also major centres of industrial activity. Such industries have very high electricity demand and part of it could be met through solar roofs over nearby roads. Localised power consumption would this reduce transmission loss and improve efficiency.

The scientists note that the elevated structures that would support the solar PV modules would also help in rainwater harvesting. If applied to the railway network such projects could supply power to the trains and may help reduce the dependence of Indian Railways on diesel.