Indian Navy to harness solar, ocean energy

New Delhi, June 5: Aiming to reduce its carbon footprint, the Indian Navy has set a target of producing 21 MW of solar power and is also looking at tapping the energy of oceans for power generation, a statement said.

For this, the navy has pledged to use 1.5 per cent of its work budget for generating renewable energy, it said in a statement on World Environment Day.

An official statement said the navy has set itself an "aggressive target" of 21 MW solar power installation, to be implemented in three phases.

The initiative is in line with the National Mission for achieving 100 GW solar system installations by 2022.

"Additionally, the navy has also pledged to use 1.5 percent of its works budget towards renewable energy generation," the statement said.

"Under this scheme, solar projects are being undertaken at various naval stations across all Commands. Naval stations, with scarce available land, have resorted to the deploying rooftop solar PV panels," it said.

The statement added that while the renewable energy scenario in the country is dominated by solar and wind energy, the navy is also exploring the possibility of harnessing the renewable energy from oceans.

"Towards this, in consultation with pioneers in the field and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), feasibility of exploiting ocean thermal energy and wave energy as sources of power, are under discussion," the statement said.

Sunday marks two years of the Green Initiatives Programme of the navy.

IANS