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In a remote area bordering Pakistan, multi-billionaire Gautam Adani's group has built the world's largest renewable energy park in Gujarat's Khavda region, as it has a massive 45 GW capacity to generate electricity largely from solar energy. This area, initially devoid of any infrastructure save for a portable toilet and a makeshift office in a container, caught the attention of Gautam Adani, then the second wealthiest person globally, in December 2022. Despite lacking basic amenities like a pincode and being situated amidst vast barren land, Adani recognized its potential.
Initially, the land was barren, with little vegetation due to its highly saline soil and no human settlement nearby. However, boasting the second-best solar radiation in the country after Ladakh and wind speeds five times that of the plains, it presented an ideal location for a renewable energy park. A mere 18-kilometer drive from the airstrip leads to the Khavda renewable energy park, spanning 538 square kilometres, approximately five times the size of Paris.
Adani's first impression upon landing at Khavda was one of incredulity -- could anyone even find a mosquito in such desolate surroundings, he quipped. Nonetheless, his group proceeded to transform the landscape. Solar panels were installed to convert sunlight into electricity, and windmills erected to harness wind speeds of up to 8 meters per second. Additionally, the group constructed worker colonies and established desalination plants to render saline groundwater, pumped from depths of 700 meters, drinkable. Furthermore, they provided essential services like mobile phone repair shops, thus turning what was once a barren wasteland into a thriving hub of renewable energy production and sustainable living.
Adani Green Energy Ltd, India's largest renewable energy company, will invest about Rs 1.5 lakh crore to generate 30 megawatts of clean electricity at Khavda in Gujarat's Kutch, its Managing Director Vneet Jaain said. "We have just now commissioned 2,000 MW (2 GW) of capacity at Khavda and plan to add 4 GW in the current fiscal (financial year ending March 2025) and 5 GW every year thereafter," he said.
Khavda at its peak will generate 81 billion units that can power entire nations such as Belgium, Chile and Switzerland, they said. Jaain said the 30 GW planned at Khavda would comprise 26 GW of solar and 4 GW of wind capacity. AGEL's existing operational portfolio comprises 7,393 MW solar, 1,401 MW wind and 2,140 MW wind-solar hybrid capacity.