Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday launched India’s first port-based Green Hydrogen Pilot Project at V.O. Chidambaranar (VOC) Port in Tamil Nadu, marking an important step in the country’s shift to clean energy.
The plant, set up at a cost of ₹3.87 crore, can produce 10 Nm³ of green hydrogen per hour. This clean fuel will be used to power streetlights and an electric vehicle charging station in the port colony.
At the event, the minister also set the foundation for a Green Methanol Bunkering and Refuelling Facility with a capacity of 750 m³, to be built at a cost of ₹35.34 crore. This project is part of the proposed Coastal Green Shipping Corridor between Kandla and Tuticorin. It is expected to make VOC Port a green fuel hub in South India.
The Viksit Bharat 2047 mission focuses on speed, growth, sustainability, and self-reliance. The projects launched today will create thousands of jobs, bring in global investments, and make Tamil Nadu an important part of India’s economic growth. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we continue to move towards our goal of being among the world’s top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030 and top 5 by 2047,” Sonowal said.
Other projects launched at the event included a 400 KW rooftop solar power plant, which has increased the port’s total rooftop solar capacity to 1.04 MW, the highest among all Indian ports. A 24.5 crore connecting conveyor was also opened to connect Coal Jetty-I with the port storage yard. It is improving efficiency by 0.72 MMTPA.
Along with this, work also began on a 6 MW wind farm, a ₹90 crore multi-cargo berth, a 3.37 km four-lane road, and the Tamil Nadu Maritime Heritage Museum.
Sonowal said that the growth of Tamil Nadu’s ports, Chennai, Kamarajar, and VOC ports, has seen major development under the Sagarmala programme.
In the past 11 years, 98 projects worth ₹93,715 crore have been started, out of which 50 have been completed. He also noted that over ₹16,000 crore has already been invested in these three ports for modernisation and capacity expansion.
The minister also paid tribute to freedom fighter V.O. Chidambaranar on his 154th birth anniversary. He said that his Swadeshi spirit continues to inspire the nation.
Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between VOC Port and the Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Ltd for rail connectivity to the Outer Harbour project, and with NTPC for green mobility initiatives at the port during the event.
Source
https://ddnews.gov.in/en/indias-first-port-based-green-hydrogen-pilot-project-launched-at-voc-port
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