The primary source of energy is depleting day by day owing to an increase in per capita energy consumption. To ensure energy security, to minimize climate change problems and to guarantee sustainable development, the useful utilization of renewable energy potential is of utmost importance. Recent researches reveal significant environmental effects in utilization of photovoltaic technology in large power plants located in urban locations. Further observations depict that the ground mounted PV power plants occupy large land spaces in the modern cities. These have led to the escalation of land price which has resulted in increasing the levelized tariff of electricity. Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV) is an alternative to mitigate the aforesaid problems. In this article, a techno‐economic feasibility of a 10 MW FSPV plant is done to show the economic viability and environmental suitability in maintaining ecological balance through adoption of floating solar photovoltaic technology as compared to conventional ground mounted PV systems. The results show that floating solar photovoltaic power plant has 10.2% more generating capacity than land based PV system and producing 28.38 MU excess generation over the life cycle of the plant. The FSPV plant will save the land cost burden of USD 352125 and water cess burden of USD 47,600. This results in reducing the levelized tariff of FSPV plant to USD 0.026/kWh which is 39% less than land based PV power plant. The FSPV plant will also save 92,945.92 MT of Coal and a total CO2 emission of 340,801.74 ton. The FSPV power plant will help to bridge the gap between energy demand and supply along with reducing the cost of electricity and protecting the environment.

No abstract

Sagar Island which is located in the world's largest delta, the Sunderban, in the eastern coast of India faces severe power crunch. Due to its isolated location, the power infrastructure is underdeveloped. This has led to very unreliable power supply and frequent power cuts. The island being economically weak, power is inaccessible to most of its residents. Thus, the per unit energy consumption of the area is low and it has led to the lowering of the human development index of the area. However, Sagar Island, owing to its location, has huge solar and wind power potential. This paper discusses the prospect of developing a solar-wind hybrid power plant to supply power to the area. The developed hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) power plant will provide uninterrupted power to the island. Results show that the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from the proposed power plant is 0.03707 $/kWh, which is lower than the LCOE from the available grid. Lowering the cost of electricity will make electricity accessible to most of the inhabitants of the island. This will, in turn, increase the per unit energy consumption and hence the human development index. The proposed power plant will also help the environment by reducing CO2 emissions by 1894.08 tonnes annually. It will also save 587.39 tonnes of coal in its lifetime. Hence, the HRES power plant will make power accessible and also help Sagar Island to become a renewable fed “Green Island.”

No abstract

No abstract