Ministry of shipping has constituted a panel to explore setting up of a 200 MW solar and wind energy project on the land located at Kandla port, said Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Shipping, Road, Highways and Transport in Mumbai today.

 

Mr. Gadkari  while speaking at the conclave on Green Ports & Oil Spill Management – 2017 said, "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,"

 

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)

 

The Minister informed that apart from the port sector, Sagarmala will have 14 industrial clusters with a cumulative investment of Rs 12 lakh crore as part of port-led development that will also be cost effective and economically viable by consuming green power.

 

Earlier, delivering his welcome address and setting the context for the conclave, Sanjay Bhatia, 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 for employment generation within the country.

 

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