By Becky Crew

Having already started on their plan to install 10 megawatt (MW) solar plants on top of several canals, India has taken the creative use of space one step further and is planning on floating a power station on one of the large stretches of water in Kerala, a state in south-western India.

This floating solar power technology was developed by India’s Renewable Energy College and the plant is being built by Indian energy company, the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC). The first plant is scheduled to be commissioned in October this year.

“NHPC had contacted us for offering technical know-how and installation assistance for their proposed 50-mw plant,” said SP Gon Choudhury, chairman of the Renewable Energy College, to Andrew Tarantola at Gizmodo. “Each station would require around 3000 square feet [914 square metres] of space to generate 20 kilowatt of power. There are many water bodies that could be used for this.”