Synopsis

India's new solar scheme targets floating projects on water bodies. This initiative aims to develop significant solar capacity without using additional land. Floating solar projects offer substantial potential across various Indian states. While challenges exist, water-cooling can enhance generation efficiency. Streamlining approvals is crucial for realizing this vast solar potential.

On July 31, the Union Cabinet approved PM Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY), committing ₹5,070 cr to develop 5,000 MW of floating solar projects with 10,000 MWh of co-located energy storage.



It goes beyond the capacity it targets, bringing into focus a larger proposition: some of India's future solar capacity may not need another acre of land. It may need the country to look differently at the water infrastructure it has already built.



That proposition gains scale when set against National Institute of Solar Energy's (NISE) 2026 assessment, which estimates India's floating-solar potential at 102.18 GWp (Gigawatt-peak). Having screened 10,725 sq km of water-body area nationally, it has identified 4,546 sq km as technically suitable.

Building power generation capacity over water bodies comes with its own challenges.



Entitlement, memory, grievance: From the zamindari abolition programmes of the 1950s to land-acquisition reforms of 2013, assembling large contiguous land parcels is a negotiation with history, not merely a transaction. Every GW of ground-mounted solar carries that in its cost structure – months lost to consent, capital tied up in land banking, and timelines that stretch because a chain of title takes long to settle. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu built much of India's first solar decade on large, contiguous parcels of relatively inexpensive desert or barren land. It's an advantage that other states cannot replicate.



Floating solar sidesteps the land question by proposing surfaces of existing reservoirs, irrigation tanks and industrial ponds acquire a second purpose without displacing its primary one.



NISE's state-wise assessment also produces a different solar map. Maharashtra and MP account for more than 30 GWp of potential. Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana take the leading group to roughly 2/3rd of the national estimate. So, the opportunity follows India's water infrastructure as much as its traditional solar geography, with Odisha and Telangana ranking ahead of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.



The new scheme also recognises an industrial opportunity and can support domestic manufacturing across the floating-solar value chain, including floatation platforms, anchoring and mooring systems, marine-grade cabling and modules. Omkareshwar, on the Narmada reservoir, is India's largest floating-solar park installation at 278 MW, being scaled to 600 MW, on transmission and land committed decades ago.



Money flow: Floating solar is not without its limitations and complications – and adds to real cost. Floating projects are estimated to be at around 25% higher in upfront capital cost than equivalent ground-mounted installations. Ecological impact, fisherfolk access to reservoirs and absence of consolidated technical standards for floating structures are equally legitimate concerns. Coordination with irrigation and water authorities also requires careful, site-specific assessment.



But water-cooling can lift generation, with estimated gains ranging from around 2% to over 8%, depending on site conditions. The same shading can also reduce evaporation by 30-60%, delivering an additional benefit in water-stressed states and at thermal plants that depend on captive reservoirs.



Too much gov: A floating-solar project sits at the intersection of RE, irrigation, water resources, fisheries, environment, transmission and local administration. A developer may have to answer to several authorities, each with a legitimate mandate and operating on its own timeline.



What the scheme does not yet consolidate is the regulatory path. A developer still answers to irrigation departments, water authorities, environmental regulators and discoms separately, each on its own clock. India has built single-window mechanisms for other infrastructure before. Floating solar is a reasonable next candidate.



That is where the distance between 102.18 GWp of assessed potential and roughly 700 MW of installed floating-solar capacity becomes instructive. It's not simply a technology gap, but a gap in project pipelines, technical standards, coordination and approvals.



If India is serious about giving its existing water infrastructure a second purpose, the next piece of infrastructure it needs may not be physical at all. It needs a single-window clearance mechanism that can bring multiple authorities governing the same water body to the same table, establishes predictable timelines, and prevents approvals from becoming a project-by-project maze.



The question now is not whether India's reservoirs can do more, but whether the system governing them can.



The writer is chairman-MD, Waaree Energies

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com.)

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