Pavagada Solar Park Visit on IEEE Day
On the occasion of IEEE Day 2025, the IEEE PES Student Branch Chapter, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, visited one of the largest solar power parks at Pavagada, Karnataka, India, on 10th October 2025. The KSPDCL-associated parks installed capacity is 2,050 MW, developed in 8 segments of 250 MW each and subdivided into 40 blocks of 50 MW. Each 250 MW segment is connected to a 220/66 kV or 220/33 kV pooling substation, from where power is stepped up to 220 kV and finally to 400 kV at the POWERGRID (PGCIL) station.
KSPDCL serves as the base infrastructure provider (land, internal roads, street-lighting, and evacuation up to the pooling substations). They have developed about 70 km of internal roads (with main and sub-roads) to connect solar plants, KSPDCL substations, and offices, and provided an extensive street-light network along these corridors. Under the evacuation scheme, eight pooling substations (each pooling 250 MW from five 50 MW blocks) collect power via double-circuit underground 33 kV/66 kV cables from the blocks, step it up to 220 kV, and then deliver it to the 400/220 kV PGCIL substation. From there, evacuation takes place over twelve 400 kV lines toward Tumkur, Devanahalli (Bengaluru), Mysuru, Bellary, Gooty, and other nodes.
Generation & plant topology: Solar energy is generated at low DC voltage using PV modules (typically a few hundred watts per panel). Panels are series/parallel-connected to reach the required string DC voltage and are interfaced to the string or central inverters. Inverters produce low-voltage AC (hundreds of volts), which is stepped up by inverter-duty transformers to 33 kV or 66 kV at the block level. A standard 50 MW block feeds two 25 MW feeders to the pooling substation; five such blocks form one 250 MW segment pooled at 220/66 kV or 220/33 kV and evacuated at 220 kV to the grid.
Grid integration and reactive power support: The Pavagada park is spread across ~11,000 acres in five villages of Pavagada Taluk, Tumkur, reflecting its scale and integration into Karnataka’s grid. During 2021 trials, night-mode operation of PV inverters (available across 1,575 MW of capacity with ~986 MVAr capability) was coordinated via PPC/SCADA to manage high nighttime voltages on lightly loaded lines. The trials recorded maximum reactive power absorption of 456 MVAr at the 220 kV point, reducing bus voltages and the need for multiple line openings; typical active power consumption during this period was ~2–2.5 MW per 100 MVAr of absorption.
Operations & observations: We observed the park’s layered control using master PPC and feeder-level controls, with reactive power managed block-wise or feeder-wise depending on inverter make and PPC/SCADA availability. The twelve 400 kV corridors and eight 220 kV links provide robust evacuation pathways from the pooling substations to regional load centers, including Bengaluru via Devanahalli.
Overall, the visit offered valuable insights for power-electronics and power-systems students, showcasing the end-to-end integration from PV strings to 400 kV transmission, the role of PPC-coordinated reactive support, and the practical trade-offs across inverter topology, O&M, and grid codes. We thank the IEEE PES Bengaluru Chapter for sponsoring travel on the occasion of IEEE Day and acknowledge the support of IISc, PGCIL, and KSPDCL. The group is enthusiastic about participating in similar technical visits in the future.
