Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) on February 21 said that the ministry is mulling increasing the share of renewable energy to 60 per cent.
He said this during a discussion on Green Port and Green Shipping’ today in Mumbai held by the ministry.
‘‘The Ministry for Ports, Shipping and Waterways intends to increase the share of renewable energy to 60 per cent of the total power demand of each of its major Ports from a present share of less than 10 per cent,” Sonowal said.
”The ports have also aimed to reduce Carbon emissions, per ton of cargo handled, by 30 per cent by the year 2030. The Maritime Vision Document-2030, released by Prime Minister, is a 10 Year blueprint on India’s vision of a sustainable Maritime sector and vibrant blue economy,’’ he added.
The Minister also said as envisaged in the National Hydrogen Mission, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has identified and nominated Paradip Port, Deendayal Port and V O Chidambarar Port for developing them as Hydrogen Hubs, capable of handling, storage and generation of green hydrogen by the year 2030.
As per an official statement, the ministry has undertaken green port initiatives in the major ports so that their environmental performance can be improved.
”The green port initiatives include acquisition of equipments for monitoring environmental pollution, acquisition of dust suppression systems, setting up of STP’s garbage disposal system for ports and ships, developing shore reception facility for wastes from ships, setting up projects for energy generation from renewable energy sources, providing shore power to ships at berths, creating Oil Spill Response (Tier-1) capabilities at all ports, taking actions to improve harbour water quality, inclusion of sustainable practices in terminal design, development and operation, increasing green cover within port premises etc,” the statement added.
The statement further said that in order to enhance the share of Green Shipping, various projects are being implemented by Cochin Shipyard Ltd., India’s largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility.
”These include green urban mobility solutions like Hybrid Electric Ferries, autonomous Zero-emission vessels, pilot project on Hydrogen Fuel Cell Ferry, Electric Catamaran Water Taxi, Hybrid Electric Ro-Ro, Hybrid LNG-Electric Inland Cargo Carrier, Hybrid Tugs, etc. The pace at which the Green initiatives are undertaken by the 12 major ports will surely bring a green revolution in the sector making the ports cleaner and greener, which is also a key component of ‘Blue Economy’, creating environmental benefits and balancing the investments and cash flow,” it added.
