The latest breakthrough in photovoltaics was not a small step, but a quantum leap. A developing country wants to surpass the U.S. and Europe in power generation. The proposal? The largest solar park in history, which can even be seen from space and is bigger than Singapore. Did you imagine it could be real?
This is the largest photovoltaic park in history: it is not in America or Europe, but here
The Bhadla Solar Park in northwest India is truly enormous in scale. When completed, it will span an area of around 80 square kilometres – making it comparable in size to the entire country of Singapore.
The Bhadla park is being built in multiple phases. Phase I and II have already added over 1,000 MW of solar capacity. When finished, the total solar capacity across all phases will reach 2,245 MW, making this one of the largest solar parks in the world.
To put its sheer size into perspective, it covers an area bigger than Manhattan. Driving through the park from end to end would take over an hour. Thousands of acres of desert have been transformed into a sea of solar panels powering hundreds of thousands of homes.
A glimpse of this photovoltaic “monster”: how India’s mega photovoltaic park works
The Bhadla Solar Park utilizes high efficiency solar photovoltaic panels mounted on single axis trackers that follow the sun throughout the day, maximizing energy generation. The solar panels are made of monocrystalline silicon cells and have an efficiency rating of over 20%. Combining high performance panels with solar tracking allows this massive solar park to generate optimal levels of solar electricity.
The solar trackers tilt the panels east to west to ensure the panels are perpendicular to the sun’s rays as the sun traverses the sky. This tracking mechanism increases energy generation by 20-30% compared to fixed tilt systems.
Solar tracking technology along with improvements in solar panel efficiency are key factors enabling the construction of gigawatt-scale solar parks like the one at Bhadla. The technology refinements allow such mammoth clean energy projects to maximize energy output while minimizing land usage.
The energy it can generate, a fact that worries the whole of humanity: we are closer to achieving it
The Bhadla Solar Park in India provides solar power at a much larger scale in the region once complete. The phase I-through-IV of the capacity will total 2,245 MW by the end. Being the blazing star among the top solar parks in the world, Bhadla will attain this status.
Bearing in mind that this solar power farm in California, Topaz, goes at 550 MW capacity will give a clear idea. Topaz was hailed as the gigantic solar farm, which had the highest capacity.
Had it been completed, the Bhadla’s phase IV expansion alone would have added 600 MW, accounting for more than the total generation capacity of all of Topaz together. India has world’s century of solar thermal park.
Coming first is the Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh with a capacity of 1,000 MW Create your Own Personalised T-shirt But the plant’s phase four might be operational first, which would be the leader in terms of installed capacity.
It is clear that photovoltaics is going to lead the way in the ecological transition, and will also contribute to bringing a country out of the “development path”. India wants to become a superpower, now that it is the world’s largest country and has even allowed itself a name change. What will be next for this Asian giant?