Socio-environmentally responsive planning for solar power plants: case study : Bap tehsil, Jodhpur District, Rajasthan

Abstract

At present, the world is in the need of cleaner sources of energy considering the ever changing climate and the current rate of depletion of fossil fuels. Solar photovoltaic work on the principle of solar energy into electrical energy. Although, considered one of the cleanest sources of energy, due to the negligible amounts of emissions related to its working, solar photovoltaic panels require huge chunks of land for setting up. At present, there is no legislatory requirement to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for setting up solar photovoltaic power plants. In certain cases, this relaxation has led to the under-planned development of solar photovoltaic power plants. In This study, an attempt has been made to analyse social and environmental impact of solar photovoltaic power plants on the local communities. The methodology for this research comprises of primary survey and geospatial analysis. The background of the study area like land cover and hydrogeological data was obtained through authentic secondary sources. The generic issues that were identified through secondary studies were scored and prioritised with the help of community participation. The case area chosen for the primary study was selected so as to address maximum possible issues during visit. For this, Bap village (the village with one of the oldest commissioned solar photovoltaic power plant) and four surrounding villages were delineated. The local flora and fauna of the area was also identified through participatory learning so as to correctly assess the severity of issues. So as to understand the heating affect associated with solar photovoltaic power plants (if any), Land Surface temperature models were also generated for the years 2001(census year), 2011(census year + the year of commencement of procurement of land for solar photovoltaic plants) and 2015(current status) with the help of Landsat-7 images available free of cost online. However, due to the limitation of available files for the area of concern and the resolution of available files (30 m for Landsat 7), no noticeable change on the land surface temperature could be observed. In order to establish the water requirement of photovoltaic power plants and study its layout, OPG 5 MW plant situated in Bap village was visited. The photovoltaic modules, especially in dusty terrains require water for cleaning and the area of interest has no piped water supply. As a result, the power plants draw water (which is already scarce in arid and semi-arid areas) from perennial ponds which is transported to them with the help of tankers lead by tractors (that run on diesel). With the help of the online emissions calculator, the CO2 emissions linked with the tractors were calculated. Also, with the help of satellite imagery available on Google Earth and area analysis on AutoCAD, the canopy cover and the average number of trees per hectare was assessed so as to understand the impact on land. Proposals and guidelines were suggested to enhance the social and environmental responsiveness linked with the setting up of solar photovoltaic power plants.