Kozhikode: The solar energy startup company which had set up the state’s first floating solar power plant at Banasura Sagar reservoir in Wayanad has made an ambitious overseas foray by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build floating solar power plants in Malaysia.

The agreement was signed by Vatsaa Energy Private Ltd based in Wayanad and Malaysian firm Mutiara Etnik Sdn Bhd in New Delhi on April 3.

The MoU along with other investment deals were signed in the presence of visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Ajay Thomas, CEO of Vatsaa Energy Private Ltd, said that the proposed floating solar projects to be set up in Malaysia would had a capacity of over 10 MW each.

“Getting an opportunity to take the indigenous technology that we developed to foreign countries is a great opportunity. The five-year agreement with the Malaysian firm is to build floating solar power plants in various ASEAN countries. The first project would be set up at the reservoir of a hydroelectric power project in Malaysia,” Ajay Thomas said.

He said that the firm had been able to bring down the cost for setting up floating solar projects considerably through the technology improvement initiatives carried out during the last one year. The floating solar power plants had higher efficiency compared to ground-mounted units as the cooling effect of water helps in keeping the temperature of the solar panels low, thus boosting output, he said.

The firm was listed as an innovative startup in the Startup India scheme in 2016.

It had set up the state’s first floating solar plant at Banasura Sagar reservoir last year. The 10- kilowatt capacity plant was built at a cost of Rs 20 lakh with financial aid from KSEB under its Energy Open Innovations Zone.

Source: Times of India