Floating solar power plant will sound death knell for Ukkadam tank in Coimbatore, warn ecologists

CHENNAI: Environmentalists have sounded concerns over a solar power plant coming up on Ukkadam Big Tank in Coimbatore as see that it may ruin the bio-diversity of the water body.

As these floating solar panels will reduce sunlight penetration into water hampering the process of photosynthesis among aquatic plants and phytoplanktons, it may increase carbon dioxide and cause decomposition of water, ecologists say.

“If the aquatic plants die due to lack of sunlight, the crustacean and other invertebrates may also perish. The death of plants and phytoplanktons will reduce the absorption of CO2 and the release of oxygen in the water. This will cause decomposition and production of obnoxious gases resulting in the Putrefaction of the water. Eventually, the population of fish may dwindle as they would be left without food. Ultimately, the lake itself would become dead and unfit for anything. Blocking sunlight may cause a chain of reactions that may be detrimental to the entire ecosystem,” said Dr Albert Rajendran, former professor of Zoology in Tirunelveli.

The floating solar power plant, set to generate 154 kilowatts (KW) of power has been established at a cost estimate of Rs 1.45 crore under the ‘Namakku Naame’ scheme with 50 per cent contribution from the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), a Swiss-based firm.

“The plant with 280 floating solar power panels has been installed in an area of 50 cents in the lake that sprawls over 330 acres. It will be ready to generate power in two months, once the transformer and inverters are fixed. There may not be any disturbance to aquatic life as the solar panels are anchored only in a small area of the water body,” said K Saravanakumar, Assistant Engineer, Coimbatore Corporation.

However, the environmentalists sought to differ. They cited the case study of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, where vast areas of solar panels were erected on grasslands and arid lands leading to reported dwindling of local flora and fauna population.

“Even if lakes in Coimbatore are polluted, they are rich in biodiversity. A total of 186 species of birds including up to 50 species of migratory birds have been recorded in the Ukkadam Big Tank. Migratory birds from far off the Himalayas and even from Siberia, Eurasia and Mongolia visit the lake from September to March. They may stop coming. That apart, the presence of butterflies, dragonflies, and snakes were also an integral part of the biodiversity in the lake,” said Selvaraj Rangasamy, president of Coimbatore Nature Society.