Adani Green starts building India's first 5 GW hybrid solar-wind park in Kutch

BHUI, Adani Green Energy Ltd has broken ground on what it says will be India's first 5 GW hybrid solar-wind park in Gujarat's Kutch district. The company started construction last week on the sprawling site near the village of Khavda, about 100 km from the Pakistan border.

The park will cover 72,000 acres of barren, salt-encrusted land. That's roughly the size of 36,000 cricket fields. The project combines 2.8 GW of solar panels with 2.2 GW of wind turbines. Together, they are expected to generate enough electricity to power roughly 4 million homes each year.

Why hybrid makes sense

Solar farms stop producing at night. Wind farms often sit idle on still days. By pairing the two on the same plot, the park can feed power into the grid for more hours of the day. The company says the hybrid design will also cut transmission costs, one set of cables for both sources, and use land more efficiently.

"This is a big step for India's renewable energy push," said Ravi Singh, a senior analyst at the Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi. "Kutch has some of the best wind speeds and solar radiation in the country. A hybrid park there can run at higher capacity than standalone plants."

The project is part of Adani Green's larger plan to hit 45 GW of renewable capacity by 2030. The company currently runs about 8.4 GW of solar and wind assets across 11 states.

Local concerns

Not everyone is cheering. Environmental groups and local farmers have raised questions about the project's impact on the fragile desert ecology. Kutch is home to the Indian wild ass and several migratory bird species. The site lies near the Great Rann of Kutch, a seasonal salt marsh that floods during the monsoon.

"The government and Adani need to show how they will protect the wildlife and the grazing lands that local herders depend on," said Meena Desai, a coordinator with the Kutch Environmental Foundation. "We have seen solar parks in Rajasthan dry up water sources. We want a clear plan before construction goes too far."

Adani Green says it has done an environmental impact assessment and will set aside 15% of the park area as a green buffer. The company also plans to build a desalination plant to supply water for cleaning solar panels, so it does not draw from local wells.

Grid and timeline

The park will connect to the national grid through a new 765 kV substation being built by Power Grid Corporation of India. The first phase, 1.5 GW, is slated to come online by December 2025. Full 5 GW completion is expected by 2028.

Adani Green has signed a power purchase agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India for 2 GW at a tariff of 2.70 rupees per kilowatt-hour. The remaining 3 GW will be sold on the open market or through bilateral deals.

"This is the biggest hybrid renewable park in the world," said Amit Singh, CEO of Adani Green Energy, at the groundbreaking ceremony. "It shows what India can do when we combine good policy with private investment."