Ministry of Shipping has constituted a panel to explore setting up 200 MW solar and wind energy project on the land located at Kandla Port, said Nitin Gadkari, Union Ministry of Shipping, Road, Highways and Transport.
“Kandla Port has 1.5 lakh acres of land which is low cost and economically viable for all ports to invest in solar and wind projects and then wheel energy through national grid. The cost of solar energy per unit has dropped to Rs 2.63 per unit and capital cost of wind energy too has dropped down, which will help all ports cumulatively save Rs 600-700 crore annually,”Gadkari said while speaking at the conclave on Green Ports & Oil Spill Management – 2017.
The conclave titled – Green Ports & Oil Spill Management 2017 was organised by the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE) in association with Ministry of Shipping, Sagarmala, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), Indian Ports Association (IPA) and Shipping Corporation of India (SCI)
Earlier, delivering his welcome address and setting the context for the conclave, Sanjay Bhatia, IAS, Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust and Indian Ports Association, said, “Keeping in the mind the need for environmentally friendly sustainable options, the conclave will deliberate and conclude with future green energy plan for ports as also standard operating procedure in case of oil spillage.”
Reminiscing the roadmap for sustainable environment, Bhatia recalled the earth summit at Rio to Kyoto Protocol in 1992 to the Bali Summit and recently the Paris convention through which India, has offered an international commitment along with several countries located between tropic of cancer and tropic of capricon to produce green energy.
Mumbai Port wants to be a model for the entire Country by ensuring that not an iota of waste will go out and whole sewage will be completely recycled within 3-4 years target, Bhatia said.
Explaining the economic significance of the green energy, Annasaheb Patil, Vice-Chairman of Indian Federation for Green Energy, said, “India currently imports 80-85% crude oil amounting to Rs 5 lakh crore and it was over Rs 7 lakh crore at peak prices impacting the trade deficit of the Country. Hence, the green initiative is not only significant from a national security perspective but also from employment generation within the Country.
Dr. Vidya Murkumbi, President of Indian Federation of Green Energy proposed a vote of thanks to conclude the inaugural session.
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