By Oghosa Erhahon
As the world mitigates global warming by moving towards sustainable energy systems, solar power infrastructure is providing clean energy. Solar power is simply the conversion of energy from the sun’s radiation into electricity with photovoltaic cells. These cells contain semiconducting materials that generate voltage and electric current upon exposure to light. These cells are linked to create solar panels that efficiently harness the sun’s rays.
The bigger the area covered by solar PV panels; the more the amount of electricity generated. The average household will need an estimated 360Kwh/month to 2,900Kwh/month from a solar power plant.
For an idea of how big solar power plants get, here are 5 of the biggest solar power plants by installed capacity in the world.
Pavaada Solar Park in India was completed in 2017 has a grand capacity of 2,050MW
Noor Abu Dubai (Sweihand PV independent) in the United Arab Emirates has a total capacity of 1,177MW and cost $870 million in 2019.
Tengger Desert Solar in China was completed in 2016 and has a capacity of 1,547MW
Bhadla Solar in India was completed in 2017 with a power capacity of 1,515MW
Kurnool Ultra in India and was completed in 2017 with a 1000MW capacity
In Nigeria, Bayero University, Kano has one of Africa’s largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant with a 7.1MW capacity.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia signed a deal to develop 2.6GW of solar farm power in Mecca.