The first stage of the Khavda renewable energy park in India is now live.

When complete, this 30 GW behemoth will be the largest renewable energy installation of any type in the world.

Sprawling over 538 km², it will be five times the size of Paris and visible from space.

It is expected to reduce India’s carbon emissions by 58 million tons per year, equivalent to taking 12.6 million cars off the roads.

The ramp up will be rapid: 2 GW in 2024, 6 GW in 2025 and then an additional 5 GW per year until 2029. At completion it will consist of 26 GW of solar and 4 GW of wind.

The location is interesting. The Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is endowed with one of the best wind and solar resources in the country. It is also a large and unforgiving area of salt desert and marshland on the border with Pakistan, 70km from the nearest human habitation.

A lot of basic infrastructure needed to be established first:
➡️ 100 km of roads
➡️ 50 km of drainage
➡️ Desalination + 3 reverse osmosis plants to provide drinking water for staff
➡️ 180 km of fibre optic cables for connectivity
➡️ And a small township for the 8,000 workers, complete with medical facilities, a shopping complex, banking services and leisure activities.

To address dust accumulation on the panels, the plant will be covered with waterless robotic cleaning systems, increasing energy output while helping to conserve water in the arid region.

With confidence growing that China’s emissions are on the cusp of peaking, attention will increasingly turn to India, with the world’s largest population, rapidly rising emissions and the most distant net-zero target of any country that has set one.

Onwards and upwards!