Once Hotspot Of Caste Riots, Kamuthi Now Hosts World’s Largest Solar Power Plant

Kamuthi in Ramanathapuram district was once known for caste conflicts and backwardness. Now it can take pride in hosting the world’s largest solar power plant.

Developed by Adani group with an investment of Rs 4,550 crore, the solar plant was dedicated to the country yesterday. The entire solar plant, spread over 2500 acres, will produce 648 megawatts (MW) of power, making it the world’s largest solar power plant in a single location.

It took just eight months for the developers to execute the project. More than four thousand people worked on the project putting together 25 lakh solar modules, 3.8 lakh foundations, 27,000 metric tonnes of structure, and 6,000 km length of cables employing 576 inverters and 154 transformers.

According to its 2012 policy, Tamil Nadu government plans to generate 3,000 MW of its total electricity requirement through solar power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also set an ambitious goal of generating 100,000 MW of solar power by 2022.

Sensing the increasing demand for clean, green energy from both the states and the centre, Adani group alone has set a target of launching projects that will produce 10,000 MW of solar power by 2022. Half of this will come from its Rajasthan solar park which it will develop in joint partnership with the state government. This will emerge as India’s largest solar park. Here is a video from National Geographic showing the phenomenon: