India plans to build the world’s largest solar-wind power plant

When it comes to clean energy, few nations stand out like India. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has announced plans to build the world’s largest solar-wind hybrid project in the district of Anantapur in the state of Andhra Pradesh. According to Cleantechnica, the plant will have a capacity of 160 megawatts—120 megawatts coming from solar and the other 40 megawatts via wind. And, in line with a pledge to end investment in fossil fuels, the World Bank is putting up $155 million for the project.

The massive solar-wind complex will cover roughly 1,000 acres of land and include a battery storage system that will allow it to function around the clock irrespective of wind and weather conditions. Anantapur has struggled with grid failure and power fluctuations in the past and the hope is that the new system will offer a steady, reliable flow of power to residents through energy storage.

Related: India added more rooftop solar in 2017 than the past 4 years combined

If all goes as anticipated, the pilot project will be scaled to serve other areas of Andhra Pradesh experiencing grid failures. And while this is not the first time this sort of technology has been proposed, it is the biggest solar-wind hybrid project on the books.

The World Bank will work with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), the renewable energy agency of Andhra Pradesh, NREDCAP, and Andhra Pradesh Transco, to bring it to fruition.

The Andhra Pradesh government is shooting for 10 GW of solar and 8 GW of wind by 2022. Hybrid-wind and solar plants are expected to account for 3GW of the total.

Via Cleantechnica

Images via Pixabay