As India expands its clean energy capacity, finding land for solar projects is becoming a challenge. This is driving interest in innovative solar solutions that can generate power without needing more land.
The recently approved PM Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY) is a step in this direction, aiming to develop 5,000 MW of floating solar capacity on reservoirs and other inland water bodies across the country.
However, India’s water infrastructure has more to offer: the country’s vast canal network — one of the largest in the world — is another under-explored avenue to generate solar power. Built over existing irrigation and water-supply canals, canal-top photovoltaics (CTPV) provides a unique approach to turn them into clean energy assets.
In CTPV, solar panels are mounted on specialised structures built over canal stretches. Unlike floating solar systems, where panels are installed on floating platforms on water bodies, CTPV systems use elevated structures above the canals.
Systems can be built based on the canal’s width, design, and orientation. The elevated structures may span the canal or can be installed along the canal banks. In all cases, the design must allow unobstructed water flow.
Advantages of CTPV
Similar to floating solar, the biggest advantage of CTPV is that it requires virtually no additional land. With land acquisition for large-scale solar becoming increasingly challenging and expensive, CTPV offers a promising way by using India’s canal infrastructure. For instance, in Punjab, the installation of 20 MW of CTPV systems is estimated to have saved nearly 100 acres of land.
CTPV offers another advantage. With solar panels covering canal stretches, the amount of water lost to evaporation can be reduced. This can be particularly useful in India’s water-stressed regions. The cooling effect of the water beneath the panels could improve panel performance in hot weather. A 1-MW CTPV system over the Narmada Canal in Mehsana, Gujarat, commissioned in 2012, reportedly saves close to 9 million litres of water every year while generating 1.6 million units of electricity annually.
While CTPV remains largely a niche application, India has been an early adopter, with its first installation in Mehsana in 2012. Between 2014 and 2017, two 10-MW CTPV systems were commissioned in Vadodara, Gujarat, and 20 MW of CTPV systems were commissioned in Punjab between 2017 and 2018.
In September 2025, the Punjab Energy Development Agency invited ‘expressions of interest’ for 40-MW CTPV projects across Punjab’s canal network, spanning over 10,000 km. Haryana has also initiated efforts to explore CTPV systems over six of its irrigation canals.
CTPV also received policy support in 2014, when the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a pilot-cum-demonstration scheme for grid-connected CTPV and canal bank projects with a target of 50 MW each for CTPV and canal-bank projects. The scheme also included financial assistance of Rs 3 crore and Rs 1.5 crore per MW or 30% of project cost, whichever was lower, for CTPV and canal bank systems, respectively.
An assessment in 2024 (co-authored by CSTEP, where the author works) estimated India’s CTPV and canal bank potential at around 131 GW (for canals up to 30 m wide and vertical bifacial installations for canals over 30 m wide). Considerations such as solar irradiation, canal characteristics, distance from substations, and protected areas were included in the assessment to identify the best-suited canal stretches across India. The five States with the highest potential were Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Punjab.
Potential roadblocks
Despite India’s early progress, deployment has remained limited for more than a decade after the first installation.
High system cost is the primary bottleneck. CTPV systems are more expensive than ground-mounted ones as they require elevated structures to span canal stretches. These structures need to be designed to not disrupt canal operations and be sturdy enough to withstand winds. They also need additional structural steel, foundations, and access provisions for operations and maintenance, all of which add to the overall costs.
Maintenance tasks, including cleaning panels and replacement and repair work, can also prove difficult when the structures are elevated above a working canal.
The linear nature of CTPV systems, which run along the course of canals, can also pose challenges when canals follow irregular paths or change direction. This can increase the cost of producing electricity, especially when electrical substations or transformers are not strategically located.
Renewed policy approach
PM-SSY is expected to revitalise the floating solar segment and drive its adoption across India, signalling growing policy interest in exploring land-neutral solar applications. This focus could extend to other solutions like CTPV, potentially giving the technology greater policy attention and momentum.
However, to overcome the aforementioned structural challenges and scale CTPV deployment, identifying and prioritising suitable canal stretches will be critical. Factors such as land scarcity, nearby electricity demand and grid connectivity, and canal orientation and geometry should be considered while selecting sites to maximise the economic viability of CTPV systems.
CTPV also requires accessible and tailored financing mechanisms, including viability gap funding and low-cost debt, to make it an attractive option for developers. This will help support early projects, allowing developers to build experience and eventually reducing costs through scale and standardisation.
However, the 2014 MNRE scheme on CTPV shows that financial support alone may not suffice to convert pilots into large-scale deployment. A renewed policy approach that includes financial assistance and standardised specifications and guidelines, capacity building of state nodal agencies, irrigation departments, and other concerned agencies, and streamlined process flows is required.
While CTPV may not fully substitute ground-mounted or rooftop solar, they offer an untapped opportunity for India’s renewable energy expansion. Even if a fraction of CTPV’s technical potential is realised, it could significantly boost India’s renewable energy capacity without adding to the pressure on land resources.
Shantanu Roy is the Sector Coordinator for Renewables and Energy Conservation at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), a research-based think tank.
Published – September 23, 2026 09:00 am IST
