Karnataka: World’s Largest Solar Park In Pavagada With 2,000 MW Capacity Becomes Fully Operational 

Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka, the world's largest solar power park, has now become entirely operational, reports Moneycontrol.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to share the news saying: "India Takes Lead in Clean Energy: World’s largest solar park at Pavagada in Karnataka is now operational. Generating 2050 MW of clean energy, the park is located on land leased from farmers, utilising the drought-hit area & adding to farmers’ income."

The solar park is located in Karnataka's Tumakuru district and the project is developed by the Karnataka Solar Park Development Corporation Limited (KSPDCL), a joint venture between the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and the Karnataka Renewable Energy (KREDL).

Spread across a staggering 13,000 acres, this plant is estimated to generate 2,050 Mega Watt (MW) capacity of power. SB Energy (SoftBank) gave its support to help make the world’s largest solar park a beacon in renewable energy.

The idea to build Pavagada Solar Park was initiated in February 2015, and work started in January 2016. The solar park is divided into eight blocks of 250 MW with dedicated high voltage supply lines, pooling stations, and a pooling substation for evacuation.

The Pavagada Solar park is built on drought-hit lands and KSPDCL has leased the land from farmers who are paid Rs 21,000/acre per year with a five percent escalation every two years.

Karnataka has become the top solar state in India with approximately 7.1 GW of large-scale solar projects in operation and approximately 1 GW of projects in the pipeline.

When it comes to energy basket, Karnataka generates 62 per cent of total power from renewable energy, followed by thermal power and nuclear with 35 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.