NTPC-SAIL Commissions 15 MW Bhilai Floating Solar Power Station

A joint venture between NTPC and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has commissioned a 15 MW floating solar power station at Bhilai, marking Chhattisgarh’s first operational floating solar plant. The project installs solar panels on floating platforms across a water reservoir associated with the Bhilai Steel Plant, rather than on land — an approach that is gaining traction across India as a way to generate clean power without competing for scarce land resources.

Floating solar technology offers a few distinct advantages over traditional ground-mounted systems. The water body beneath the panels helps keep panel temperatures lower, which can modestly improve generation efficiency compared to land-based installations that heat up more in direct sun. It also reduces water evaporation from the reservoir surface and avoids the land acquisition and clearing costs associated with utility-scale ground-mounted solar farms.

For an industrial user like SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant, the 15 MW capacity directly offsets a portion of the plant’s substantial power consumption, supporting the steel sector’s broader push toward reducing its carbon footprint — an increasingly important consideration as India’s heavy industries face growing pressure to decarbonise their operations. This project follows on from an earlier tender process where NTPC-SAIL Power sought bids for floating solar capacity at the site.

Beyond Bhilai, floating solar has already been deployed at reservoirs like Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh and at NTPC facilities elsewhere in the country, suggesting this technology will play an increasingly visible role in India’s utility-scale renewable energy mix, particularly for public sector undertakings with large water bodies on their premises.