Scientists discover first alien Super-Earth with permanent dark and sun-lit sides
Scientists, in a path-breaking discovery, have found a nearby alien planet which has one side locked in permanent darkness while the other side remains in endless sunshine.
Khavda at its peak will generate 81 billion units that can power entire nations such as Belgium, Chile and Switzerland, they said.
Mr 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.
While Khavda region witnesses 2,060 kWh/m2 of high solar irradiation and one of the best wind resources in India, with speeds of 8 meters per second, frequent sandstorms necessitate cleaning of solar panels several times in a day.
Project will be entirely covered with waterless robotic module cleaning systems, executives said. Khavda land belongs to the government, which leased out the site to Adani group for 40 years.
Executives said over the last five years, Adani Green conducted geotechnical investigations, seismic studies, a centrifuge study by Cambridge, resource assessment and land studies, Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD), and a detailed feasibility study, amongst several others, before embarking on the development of this site.
Construction started in 2022. The comprehensive infrastructure development effort included the construction of 100 km roads, 50 km of drainage, establishment of desalination and 3 reverse osmosis (RO) plants with a total capacity of 70 cubic meter per hour to meet the drinking water requirements of the project staff, laying optical fiber cables for 180 km for connectivity, and concrete batching plants.
This is the first major evidence which proves that the planets beyond our Solar System are also ‘tidally locked’ to their host stars and have an orbital period exactly similar to the rotational one.
This results in one side of the exoplanet always facing the star and not having any respite from the heat and the other side facing perpetual night.
The area has its own set of challenges – heavy dust storms during March to June, no communication and transport infrastructure, nearest habitable area being 80-km away, water not seeping under soil during rainy season, even ground water being saline and it being a restricted zone.
Executives said while some workers from Khavda village, accommodation are being built to house 8,000 workers.
Adani group’s renewable energy plans are the most ambitious by any corporate in the country which is targeting to generate 500 GW of electricity from non-fossil sources by 2030, as part of a broader plan of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.
(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a Media Release)
