BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government is contemplating to generate solar energy by leveraging the potential of vast water sources of the State, Energy Secretary Bishnupada Sethi said on Friday.
Speaking at the two-day first international conference on Innovation in Electrical Power Engineering Communication and Computing Technology (IEPCCT- 2019) at SOA University here, Sethi said the State has huge potential for generating solar power by utilising large water bodies and reservoirs like Balimela, Hirakud and Rengali.
“The country has fixed an ambitious target of generating 450 GigaWatt of renewable energy in view of the pressing need to reduce the carbon emission level.
"Floating solar, as the system of generating solar energy by using water bodies is known, has immense potential. Odisha can be one of the major players,” he said.
Sethi, who is also the CMD of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC), said the Government is discussing the possibility of taking up such projects with the European Union.
Solar power projects would eliminate the need for land acquisition and avoid displacement, he observed.
Besides the water reservoirs, seven irrigation projects have also been identified for the purpose and issues including the method of evacuation of power, its impact on the water bodies, fisheries and other related matters would have to be sorted out, he said.
“Though Odisha has 30 per cent of the country’s coal deposit, it appears the days of thermal power generation are limited as it causes pollution.
"Generation of more and more green energy is the need of the hour,” Sethi added.
Director of Institute of Chemical Technology, Bhubaneswar, Prof Bhaskar Narayan Thorat said researches generate a large amount of data which should be utilised with wisdom.
There is a need to organise information and then opt for the best operation templates, he said.
Dean (Research and Development) of SOA, Prof PK Nanda presided over. Professor Bijay Ketan Panigrahi of IIT Delhi, head of department of Electrical Engineering in SOA’s faculty of engineering and technology Prof Renu Sharma and organising committee chairman Manohar Mishra also spoke.