Floating Solar Power Plants – A Pandora's Box Of Potential Challenges

Having canvassed options across agricultural land, occupying waste lands, and also laying siege on rooftops of residential and commercial properties, the growing market for solar power infrastructure has found anchor in water bodies, to set up Floating Solar Photovoltaic Plants (“FSPV Plants”). While conceptually FSPVs are not defined as a separate category of renewable plants, its reference and recognition can be found in the terms and conditions for tariff determination from renewable energy sources regulations 2020 issued by the CERC which states that FSPV Plants shall mean a solar PV power project where the arrays of photovoltaic panels on a structure of the project float on top of a body of water, such as artificial basin or lake, with the help of floater, anchoring and mooring system.