Govt aims to make all inland waterways ports 100% green in 5 yrs

NEW DELHI : The government plans to make all coastal and river ports in inland waterways “completely green” in five years by using renewable energy, said a senior civil servant on Thursday.

VO Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, Deendayal Port Authority in Kandla in Gujarat, Visakhapatnam Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Navi Mumbai already use green energy for all their needs.

“We will ensure that we find ways of making 100 per cent renewable energy efficient ports within a period of about five years,” said T K Ramachandran, secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways at the FICCI Green Shipping & Ports Conclave 2024 here.

“If not in international shipping, at least in the coastal and river inland waterways – that is under our control,” he said. “So, we are working on making that completely green in five years.”

Under the Amrit Kaal plan launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in October, the government has set 2047 as the deadline to make “all major ports” in the country use green energy. All such ports will have green hydrogen storage and bunkering facilities by 2047, says a vision document for the plan.

The government has identified three ports, in Kandla, Tuticorin and Paradip, to be pilots in green hydrogen production, said Ramachandran.

The Centre, in February, released guidelines for undertaking green hydrogen pilot projects in the shipping sector under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

Two areas have been identified as thrust areas under the pilot projects. First is retrofitting of ships to enable them to run on green hydrogen or its derivatives. The second is the development of bunkering and refuelling facilities in ports on international shipping lanes for fuels based on green hydrogen.

Ramachandran said his ministry has allocated Rs 80 crore to the Shipping Corporation of India to enable older ships to use methanol as fuel. “Couple of them are already in the process,” he said.