TAMIL NADU FLOATING SOLAR PROJECT

Context

M K Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, has inaugurated India's largest floating solar power plant, which cost Rs 150.4 crores to build. The floating plant would offer clean energy at the Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation Limited (SPIC) factory in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. Its goal is to deliver environmentally sustainable energy generation while lowering carbon emissions.

Key points

• The project, which was launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, is India's largest and first floating power plant.
• Singapore-based AM International Holdings Ltd erected a state-of-the-art 25.3 megawatts DC/22 megawatts AC floating solar plant to maximise energy output in industrial plants on a sustainable basis. AM International Holdings Ltd, based in Singapore, owns SPIC Ltd.
• This project is owned by Greenam Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AM International.
• SPIC Ltd collaborated with Ceil and Terre, a global pioneer in floating solar power, to design, engineer, and anchor the floating islands and supply floats.
• EDAC Engineering Ltd., a subsidiary of the AM International Group, was in charge of the construction.

About the plant

• The floating power station can generate 42 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.
• Greenam Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AM International, owns the solar power plant. For the structures and designs, SPIC collaborated with Ceil & Terre, a global leader in floating solar power. 

Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Ltd 

• SPIC is a petrochemicals company with headquarters in Chennai, India. 
• The company was started on December 18, 1969, and in 1975, the M. A. Chidambaram Group and TIDCO formed a joint venture. 
• The government sold its stake in the company in 1992. Fertilizers are its main area of competence.
• Its businesses include oil, power, natural gas, agricultural biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. 
• The company's major client has been the Tamil Nadu government.