‘TN has 1.2 L MW solar power potential; taps less than 1%’ | Chennai News

Chennai: Tamil Nadu has the potential for 1.29 lakh megawatts of solar power, which, if fully tapped, can meet 100% of the state’s projected power demand five years later, according to a study by UN-backed NGO Auroville Consulting. The installed capacity of solar power in TN, at 10,656 MW, is however just 0.78% of the potential.The NGO projected the figures for the distributed energy resources (DER) by comparing secondary data from the Solar Technology and Application Atlas of India (STAAI) and the Centre for Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), quantifying the electricity generation capacity of various technologies available, including rooftop and floating photovoltaic systems.If the entire solar potential is achieved, the state can generate 203.67 trillion units of power in a year, which is more than the projected power requirement for 2030-31. In 2034, it can still meet 87% of the projected power demand, it said. Of the 1.29…