- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy(MNRE) has approved a proposal to declare ocean energy as renewable energy.
- This means that energy produced using various forms of ocean energy such as tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy conversion will now be considered as Renewable Energy.
- This decision will help the sector to grow as it will enable states to buy electricity generated from ocean energy route to meet their Renewable Purchase Obligations(RPOs).
- RPO is a mechanism by which the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions are obliged to purchase a certain percentage of power from renewable energy sources.
- The deployment of Ocean energy is currently limited but the sector has the potential to grow which may (a)fuel economic growth (b)reduce carbon footprint and (c)create jobs not only along the coasts but also inland along its supply chains.
- According to MNRE,Gulf of Cambay and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat on the west coast show potential for tidal energy production.However,the capital cost for tidal energy is very high due to high civil construction and high power purchase tariffs.
