India’s Renewable Energy Park Surpasses Paris, Becoming World’s Largest – 5 Times Bigger

Khavda is the world’s largest renewable energy park, using a combination of solar and wind energy. The airstrip at Khavda was even smaller in December 2022 when Adani group head Gautam Adani, who was then the second richest person in the world, first used a small aircraft to reach the barren area. This area got its name from a village 80 kilometers away.

The land hardly had any vegetation due to its highly saline soil, and there was no habitation. However, the area had the second-best solar radiation in the country after Ladakh, and wind speeds five times that of the plains, making it an ideal location for a renewable energy park. Adani Green Energy Ltd, India’s largest renewable energy company, plans to invest about Rs 1.5 lakh crore to generate 30 megawatts of clean electricity at Khavda in Gujarat’s Kutch.

The company has commissioned 2,000 MW of capacity at Khavda and plans to add 4 GW in the current fiscal year and 5 GW every year thereafter. The airstrip is used to ferry group executives from Mundra or Ahmedabad a few times a week, and the outer flange of the energy park is just one km from the international border with Pakistan, manned by BSF. The area faces several challenges including heavy dust storms, lack of communication and transport infrastructure, and the nearest habitable area being 80 km away.

The executives noted that Adani group’s renewable energy plans are the most ambitious by any corporate in the country. The Khavda region witnesses high solar irradiation and has one of the best wind resources in India. The land belongs to the government, which leased out the site to Adani group for 40 years.

The company conducted several studies and assessments before embarking on the development of this site, and the construction started in 2022. The comprehensive infrastructure development effort included road construction, draining, establishing desalination and RO plants, laying optical fiber cables, and concrete batching plants. The project aims to generate 81 billion units of electricity that can power entire nations and is part of a broader plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.