Sea Power To The Fore

It was a bit surprising when the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently notified ocean energy as renewable energy, especially when India has no installed capacity and hardly any research has been done to ascertain its potential. The notification means that the electricity generated from the source will have a must-run status at the grid - which means grids can't refuse to take this electricity and distribution companies can buy it to meet their mandatory renewable energy procurement obligations.

Rough estimates peg the potential at 12,455 MW in Khambat & Kutch regions and large backwaters. Officials in the ministry say there are some investors who are keen to tap this energy source. However, it seems that the things have been eased a bit too early, without much planning.