40 big lakes in Karnataka may get floating solar panels

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has identified 40 lakes on which floating solar panels may be installed, Minor Irrigation Minister N S Boseraju has said.

Boseraju first proposed the idea of having floating solar panels on water bodies in July last year.

Boseraju said his department has identified 40 lakes whose area spans 10,000 acres. These are lakes that are being filled through lift irrigation projects.

"There's scope to generate 2,500 megawatts (MW) power," Boseraju said. "Throughout the year, these lakes are 50-60% full. The plan is to install floating solar panels to generate power."

Apart from generating solar power, the minor irrigation department looking at reducing electricity costs being incurred on the lift irrigation projects. Apparently, the government spends Rs 10-12 crore per month towards electricity charges for lift irrigation projects.

According to the minister, floating solar panels have been installed on water bodies across India, generating 1 gigawatt (GW) power. "Floating solar panels don't need land. Also, they seem like a good mode to generate solar power. However, installation costs are a bit high," Boseraju noted.

Boseraju has asked the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL) to organise a meeting with experts to assess the pros and cons of installing floating solar panels on lakes.

Commercial activities on lakes?

In a separate meeting, Boseraju discussed the possibility of generating revenues from lakes by throwing them open for commercial activities. Lakes that come under 456 lift irrigation projects will be considered for this.

"This needs a policy," Boseraju said, adding that a meeting will be held soon with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the water resources minister.

The government has earned Rs 33.58 lakh as revenue from 71 lakes that have been handed over to fishing cooperative societies. From 381 lakes, the revenue is Rs 254.29 lakh through a tender-cum-auction process.

"Instead of tender-cum-auction process, if e-tendering is done, then revenues can increase three times. Also, by organising other commercial activities, we can expect more revenues," Boseraju said.

Like with floating solar panels, throwing open lakes for commercial activities can help reduce the burden of electricity costs on lift irrigation projects, the minister said.

Boseraju said fishing rights have not been given on several lakes. The meeting with Shivakumar will discuss according fishing rights and distributing revenue earned from lakes among departments, he added.