Thorough Planning of Solar Park Mitigates Risk for Investors, Locals

“India can play a pivotal role in solar power generation because of its geographic advantage like availability of land and high solar irradiation in the desert,” said Naoki Sakai, Asian Development Bank's (ADB) senior climate change specialist for the South Asia Department’s Energy Division and mission leader of the Gujarat solar power transmission project.

The Gujarat Solar Power Park is the name used for a group of solar parks being constructed in Gujarat, India. The Charanka site, the first and biggest in the solar power park, is poised to become the world’s largest photovoltaic power station, with the capacity to host 500 megawatts of solar power systems using state-of-the-art thin film technology once completed by end of 2014.

Reduced and fixed solar power tariffs, favorable policies, capacity development, and an education campaign drew the participation and sustained interest of investors, residents, civil society, and other key stakeholders. In effect, what once was a desert is now a tourist attraction and a massive source of renewable energy from the sun.

“India has great potential to be a hub for solar power generation,” said Sakai. “In order to make sustainable economic development work, it is clear that developing member countries of ADB, particularly India, should not over-depend on fossil fuel like coal.”