Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister officially inaugurated the construction of the mega-park that will be the world’s largest renewable energy park. The Hybrid Renewable Energy Park in the district of Kutch in Gujarat will produce 30 GW of renewable energy and will contribute the largest amount of energy to the country’s grid. The park will be constructed on 72,600 hectares of land, the size of Singapore. It will have a dedicated hybrid park zone for wind and solar energy storage and an exclusive zone for wind power generation.
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The world’s largest renewable energy park will account for a large percentage of India’s ambitious target of generating 175 GW in renewable energy by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030. Currently, the country’s renewables energy capacity including hydropower and projects under development is around 190 GW. The Prime Minister also announced that the project will also help the world’s second-most populous country reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by up to 50 million tonnes per year, while the desalination plant that the Prime Minister also inaugurated will have the capacity to process 100 million litres of water a day for 800,000 people living in the arid region bordering Pakistan.
Earlier this year, R.K Singh, India’s Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister said that the country would have 60 per cent of its installed electricity generation capacity from clean energy sources by 2030. India, which is expected to be the fastest-growing energy demand market in the coming decades.”Energy security and water security are vital in the 21st century,” PM Modi said. “The two major projects of the renewable energy park and the desalination plant inaugurated today in Kutch are steps towards achieving the two.” “An 18-km road will be built by the state public works department. It will bypass India bridge and provide access to the project. Also, the existing road that leads from India bridge to Vighakot is being strengthened and widened,” a State Government Official stated.
Excellent news. Why not do the same in vast, arid areas of South Africa, namely Nortern Cape? 373000 km² , population density 3.1 per km². Few clouds, Average daily sunshine i.e. Upington 9 hrs.