With large tracts of land competing with agriculture, forests and other uses, reservoirs and inland waterbodies are emerging as potential sites for utility-scale solar projects. India’s next phase of solar expansion may move from land to water.
The National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram, has estimated India’s floating solar potential at about 102.18-gigawatt peak (GWp) across reservoirs and other suitable inland waterbodies. The assessment considered water availability and depth, solar irradiance and proximity to roads and substations. India has several floating solar projects at different stages of development, including National Thermal Power Corporation’s 100 MW project at Ramagundam in Telangana, a 92 MW project at Kayamkulam in Kerala, a 50 MW initiative at Rihand Dam in Uttar Pradesh, and the planned 600 MW floating solar project at Omkareshwar Dam in Madhya Pradesh—one of the largest such projects in the world.
Floating solar remains a relatively young technology in India. The country has around 700 MW of installed floating solar capacity, as per Union government data, while projects are now being planned on a much larger scale. The potential is significant in the context of India’s plan to increase the share of non-fossil sources in cumulative installed electricity capacity to 60 per cent by 2035. As of June 30, 2026, India had 297.36 GW of installed non-fossil-fuel-based electricity capacity, accounting for 54.18 per cent of the total installed capacity, according to the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). This comprised 288.58 GW of renewable energy capacity and 8.78 GW of nuclear capacity.
The scale of the opportunity and the questions surrounding it have prompted a major policy push. On July 31, the Union Cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY), allocating Rs 5,070 crore to develop 5,000 MW of floating solar photovoltaic projects with at least two hours of co-located energy storage, equivalent to 10,000 MWh. The projects will be sanctioned between 2026-27 and 2030-31, and financial support disbursement will continue till 2032-33. The scheme provides central financial assistance of Rs 1 crore per MW after commissioning and up to Rs 50 lakh per project for feasibility work, including bathymetry, hydrography and environmental studies, as per the July 31 …
This article was originally published in the September 1-15, 2026 print edition of Down To Earth