6 MW Solar Plant under PM-KUSUM Component C — Bikaner, Rajasthan — Solar

Scope

• Solar

• Commissioning in progress — 6 MW solar plant
• PM-KUSUM Component C (solar for grid-connected agricultural pumps)
• Ground-mounted on galvanised steel structures, Bikaner district, Rajasthan

Capacities delivered

• 6 MW solar PV, ground-mounted

Engineering challenge

• PM-KUSUM is the Government of India’s scheme for solar power in agriculture. Its Component C covers grid-connected agricultural pumps, which a state can solarise pump by pump or by supplying an agricultural feeder from a dedicated solar plant. This plant is 6 MW, in Bikaner district in the Thar desert.
• The site is open desert. Foundations sit in loose sand, wind carries dust onto the glass every day, summer heat pushes module and cable temperatures up, and water for cleaning is scarce — so the structures, the row layout and the cabling are set for the ground and climate, not copied from a rooftop.
• Commissioning is the last gate. The strings, inverters, protection and the connection to the grid are tested and accepted before the plant is handed over and starts supplying power under the scheme.

Our solution

• Module rows on galvanised steel structures, raised clear of the sand so that drifting sand and run-off stay below the module edges.
• Long, continuous rows at a fixed tilt with clear aisles between them, so the glass can be cleaned and the rows inspected without stepping on the modules.
• Commissioning in progress: string, inverter and protection checks and the grid connection are being completed before handover.

Approvals

Work of this scope typically runs through the following statutory approvals, which we manage end to end:

• CEIG approval — HT installations, DG sets and solar
• DISCOM net-metering

Outcome

• Commissioning in progress (October 2026). Capacity test results, generation data, equipment makes and approvals will be added to this record at handover; nothing is claimed ahead of that.

Lessons and engineering considerations

• In sand, prove the foundation in the ground it stands on. Pull-out and lateral load tests on trial piles settle the pile depth before hundreds of them are driven.
• Plan the cleaning before the first module goes up. In the Thar the glass soils daily and water is scarce, so the cleaning cycle, the water source and the aisle widths belong in the layout, not in the O&M contract.
• Rate everything for the heat. Module output falls as temperature rises, and cables, connectors and inverter enclosures in a desert summer need their temperature ratings and ventilation checked, not assumed.