Construction Industry News
Khavda is the worlds largest renewable energy park using a combination of solar and wind energy. The runway was even smaller in December 2022, when Gautam Adani, head of the Adani Group, then the second-richest person in the world, first used a small plane to reach the arid area that did not even have a plane. a PIN code and got its name from a town 80 kilometers away.
Khavda, Gujarat: A narrow airstrip without even an air traffic controller to guide incoming planes and whose only infrastructure is a portable toilet and a makeshift office in a shipping container, amid miles of arid land in the border with Pakistan, is an unlikely gateway to the worlds largest renewable energy park. The runway was even smaller in December 2022, when Gautam Adani, head of the Adani Group, then the second-richest person in the world, first used a small plane to reach the arid area that did not even have a plane. a PIN code and got its name from a town 80 kilometers away.
The country had hardly any vegetation due to the very salty soil, much less housing. But the area with the second best solar radiation in the country, after Ladakh, and with wind speeds five times those of the plains, served as an unused site for a renewable energy park. 18 kilometers from the runway across arid, dusty land lies his groups Khavda renewable energy park, spread over 538 square kilometers, about five times the size of Paris.
When Adani first landed in Khavda, he joked about whether anyone would be able to find a mosquito in the area, his executives said. But since then, his group has not only installed solar panels that convert the suns rays into electricity and wind turbines to harness the wind at a speed of 8 meters per second, but has also built colonies for workers and installed desalination plants. to produce salt water. . He pumped 700 meters underground, portable appliances and utilities such as mobile phone repair shops. Adani Green Energy Ltd, Indias largest renewable energy company, will invest around Rs 1.5 crore to generate 30 megawatts of clean electricity at Khavda in Kutch, Gujarat, CEO Vneet Jaain said.
We have just commissioned 2,000 MW (2 GW) of capacity at Khavda and plan to add 4 GW in the current financial year (financial year ending March 2025) and 5 GW every year thereafter, he said. The airstrip is used several times a week to transport group leaders from Mundra or Ahmedabad.
The air traffic controller or ATC at Bhuj, about 160 kilometers away, is the final guidance point for planes bound for Khavda. But the range only goes as far as Tent City and the pilots are practically alone for the last part of about 50 miles, including landing. We used visual aids and aircraft navigation systems for landing. On take-off, we informed Bhuj about the plans over phone, said a pilot flying the Adani Group plane. The outer wing of the energy park is only one kilometer long. from the international border with Pakistan. The one kilometer buffer zone is handled by BSF. Executives said the track was built in just 35 days in an area where even tractors had to be modified so they could operate on terrain that does not easily absorb water.
The area has its own challenges: strong dust storms from March to June, lack of communication and transportation infrastructure, the nearest habitable area is 80 km away, water does not filter underground during the rainy season, even water Underground is salty and is a restricted area. zone. Executives said that while some workers in Khavda village are building accommodation to house 8,000 workers. The Adani Groups renewable energy plans are the most ambitious of any company in the country, and it aims to generate 500 GW of electricity from non-fossil sources by 2030, as part of a broader plan to achieve net-zero emissions.
At its peak, Khavda will generate 81 billion units that could power entire countries such as Belgium, Chile and Switzerland, they said. Jaain said the 30 GW planned at Khavda would include 26 GW of solar power and 4 GW of wind power. AGELs existing operational portfolio includes 7,393 MW of solar capacity, 1,401 MW of wind power and 2,140 MW of hybrid wind-solar capacity. While the Khavda region witnesses high solar radiation of 2,060 kWh/m2 and one of the best wind resources in India, with speeds of 8 meters per second, frequent sandstorms force the solar panels to be cleaned several times. times a day. The project will be completely covered with waterless cleaning systems for robotic modules, executives said. The Khavda land is owned by the government, which leased it to the Adani group for 40 years.
Executives said that in the last five years, Adani Green has carried out geotechnical investigations, seismic studies, a Cambridge centrifuge study, land and resource studies, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) and a detailed survey. feasibility studies, among others, before starting the development of this place. Construction began in 2022. Extensive infrastructure development efforts include construction of 100 km of roads, 50 km of drainage, construction of desalination and 3 reverse osmosis (RO) plants with a total capacity of 70 cubic meters per hour to supply drinking water. needs. of project personnel, laying fiber optic cables over 180 km for connectivity and concrete batching plants.
