Asia’s first commercial-scale Tidal Power Plant to be constructed in Gujarat

There’s a surprise for those who believe that India, being an agricultural country, can never catch up with the others in different fields of development. Today India is all set not only to prove this wrong but also to make a significant place in world history.

India to Install Asia's First Tidal Power Plant in Gujarat
India to Install Asia’s First Tidal Power Plant in Gujarat

It won’t be long before we see Asia’s first commercial-scale tidal power plant set up in the Indian state of Gujarat.

This has been finalized last week after India signed an agreement with the British marine energy company on Wednesday. When asked about the location at which the project is to take place, the State Energy Minister Saurabh Patel said two or three locations at the Gulf of Kutch were identified where the turbines from Atlantis Resource Corporation could be set up.

The decision of the ministers to keep in mind the effects of construction on the environment and marine life of that area is something that makes one appreciate the increased level of awareness on environmental issues. An attempt has been made to make sure that the territorial possessions of people near the sea, which is divided between India and Pakistan, remain undisturbed.

This project, which aims to be claimed as Asia’s first commercial-scale tidal power plant, will require hundreds of millions of dollars as an investment as estimated by the company. This project will be designed to have an initial capacity of 50MW, which would in the long run increase up to 250MW.

Such attempts have been made by others too! South Korea’s Sihwa Lake 254MW Tidal Power Project was almost ready to be the world’s first in 2009, but due to repeated delays, it still remains unfinished. This delay, however, gave our country an opportunity to emerge as a competitor to South Korea.

France already has the world’s biggest power station located at La Rance Brittany, which has a capacity of 240MW to supply 90 percent of Brittany’s electricity demands. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy India produces 15,000 MW of power from all renewable resources with 150MW from wind energy alone.

Presently tidal energy is not very popular in India reason being the high investment it needs and the limited number of sites we have. The construction of the tidal energy plant is scheduled to begin sometime next year and if everything goes well we will have in 2013 Asia’s first commercial-scale tidal power plant will be located in India adding to the pride of Indians! Won’t that be a brilliant achievement?

Source: BBC News: India plans Asian tidal power first

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