Govt plans to install floating solar panels on dam

[Paul2]

What we learned from those projects is that these floating solar parks cost 25-30% more than if installed on land.

What is the price of land they are installed on?

 

[krash]

There have been other places where such have been installed to minimise evaporation while generating power. Somewhere in India

IIRC, the Indian project was on canals. Shade Balls would not have worked due to the flowing water. Do they have one for large reservoirs as well?

Besides, India isn't exactly an example I'd want to follow in matters such as this.

I hope it isn't that bad

I'm not even saying that it will not work. My contention is that if there indeed are more affordable and more manageable options for us to get even better results then why would we want to pursue this? Because it's the gimmick that we are after.

 

[Dubious]

IIRC, the Indian project was on canals. Shade Balls would not have worked due to the flowing water. Do they have one for large reservoirs as well?

That is why I said water bodies

I'm not even saying that it will not work. My contention is that if there indeed are more affordable and more manageable options for us to get even better results then why would we want to pursue this? Because it's the gimmick that we are after.

Is it the gimmick? What is more affordable and better? I am not knowledgeable in this field so I am interested in listening what is more affordable and better?

 

[krash]

That is why I said water bodies

My bad.

Is it the gimmick? What is more affordable and better? I am not knowledgeable in this field so I am interested in listening what is more affordable and better?

Building a Solar Power Generation unit on land in areas of Sindh, South Punjab or Balochistan where the sun is always shinning will 1) save us massively on construction costs, 2) save us higher maintenance costs and 3) generate more electricity year round. To prevent water loss in reservoirs cheap Shade balls offer a relatively inexpensive solution with virtually negligible maintenance costs.

Frankly speaking, we should be more concerned about building more reservoirs upstream of areas where drought is a problem every few years. No one is going to do that though, vested political interests forbid it. The concern with Tarbela, Mangla, GhaziBarotha and Khanpur is not water loss at all. It is in fact the opposite. These reservoirs will reach their maximum capacity soon thanks to unchecked siltation for decades.

These figures are from July this year,

Tarbela:

Minimum operating level 1392 feet, present level 1525.75 feet, maximum conservation level 1550 feet, live storage today 4.706 million acre feet (MAF).

Mangla:

Minimum operating level 1050 feet, present level 1186.40 feet, maximum conservation level 1242 feet, live storage Monday 3.528 MAF.

Mangla did end up reaching its max capacity in Sept this year.

https://nation.com.pk/05-Sep-2019/mangla-dam-attains-maximum-storage-level

In short, we are planing to spend millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars on a project for results which we have no need of. When there are not only better and more affordable ways of achieving the same result but also when there are much larger concerns which could do very well with our added attention and capital. Why do we still want it? Because it floats of course.

 

[Dubious]

Building a Solar Power Generation unit on land in areas of Sindh, South Punjab or Balochistan where the sun is always shinning will 1) save us massively on construction costs, 2) save us higher maintenance costs and 3) generate more electricity year round. To prevent water loss in reservoirs cheap Shade balls offer a relatively inexpensive solution with virtually negligible maintenance costs.

yes but this "gimmick" is to decrease evaporation from water bodies?

I agree there are some OTHER things we can do...But evaporation on water bodies is causing rivers and dams to dry up. Islamabad famous dam was dried during summer. I was in Islamabad for summer so I know...

So this "gimmick" is to ensure the water bodies are not drying up when in need...we can create more dams but if the heat is going to dry up the dams coz our whole water cycle is in ruins due to unexpected weather and extreme temperatures...what other options do we have?

 

[Imran Khan]

why ? do we have shortage of land ? stupid idea

 

[krash]

yes but this "gimmick" is to decrease evaporation from water bodies?

I agree there are some OTHER things we can do...But evaporation on water bodies is causing rivers and dams to dry up. Islamabad famous dam was dried during summer. I was in Islamabad for summer so I know...

So this "gimmick" is to ensure the water bodies are not drying up when in need...we can create more dams but if the heat is going to dry up the dams coz our whole water cycle is in ruins due to unexpected weather and extreme temperatures...what other options do we have?

I've actually addressed all of that in my previous post. Firstly, Tarbela, Mangla, Ghazibarotha and Khanpur are not threatened by evaporation. In fact, Tarbela and Mangla are nearing their maximum capacities due to another problem which we aren't doing anything about, as mentioned in the previous post. I also shared figures from this year to support my claim. Ghazibarotha, on the other hand, is a Run-of-the-river system which means that it has a very small reservoir with negligible water storage capacity. Goes to show how much planning went into this plan.

Secondly, even if we still just had to try to minimize evaporation at these 4 reservoirs then shade balls offer a much much more affordable and sensible solution. They would also allow us to instead build those proposed floating solar power generation systems on land in areas which offer exponentially more sunlight through out the year as opposed to the mountainous areas of Tarbela, Mangla, Ghazibarotha and Khanpur. This would also save us 25-30% in building costs. Which we could use for a hundred more critical needs.

So, in short, there is no need to prevent evaporation at these four locations. But if we still really really wanted to then the combination of shade balls at these reservoirs and building the solar power generation systems on land gives us a solution which is easier to implement, is better at curbing evaporation, is a lot more economical and generates more electricity. Better in every single way. Just doesn't look cool.

What is the price of land they are installed on?

Peanuts, with unwanted sun burnt arid and desert regions a plenty in South Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.

 

[ghazi52]

Floating Solar Panels, First Time in Pakistan at Tarbela Dam Reservoir

 

[Trango Towers]

i think instead of dams they can be used better at sea side as dams have less area

Sea has waves dams are not as rough

 

[Mujahid Memon]

The main problem of Pakistan is, although there are number of new projects and ideas, these are implemented too, but after starting it, these projects are not maintained afterwards. They are left as Feral animals. Trillions of rupees wasted like that. Infrastructure, equipment, manpower and what not. The funny part is: even after demise of such projects, these projects remain alive in files, and employees keep drawing their salaries for the rest of their lives.
Depending on dams for electricity is as wasteful as modern industrial complex, as it costs a lot, and a considerable part is wasted in transmission. Better we adopt modern modals.

The biggest problem of Pakistanis (govt and people alike) you described in this post