According to the Hindu Business Line, solar panels will be installed in the state of Gujarat (northwestern India) to generate power. Those panels will use the 11,807 miles long network of Narmada canals.
Narendra Modi, Gujarat’s Chief Minister, inaugurated the “Canal Solar Power Project”, a 1 Megawatt pilot project on 24 April 2012. The project is situated on the Narmada branch canal near Chandrasan village of Kadi taluka in Mehsana district. This pilot project has been developed on a 0.45 mile stretch of the canal by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation with support from Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd, which owns and maintains the canal network.
The state of Gujarat has attracted investments of $1.7 billion on solar energy projects while Gujarat invests nearly $370 million a year on renewable energy.
As the government of India does not have to spend a lot of money on infrastructure or land acquisition, the cost of solar power per megawatt is expected to be less than the estimated $1.85 million.
