07-08-03-23 Daily-Gujarat-GPSC Current Affairs

The Union Government has granted in-principle approval for offshore wind power generation on theGujaratcoastline.

With an expected of about Rs 16,000 crore in setting up offshore windmills and an additional investment of between Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 24,000 crore in setting up onshore transmission Infrastructure, the ambitious project envisages wind power generation to the tune of 20,000 MW or 2 gigawatt (GW).

The State Government will purchase all the power generated under the proposed project.

TheUnion ministry of renewable energywill invite bids to set up offshore wind power generation infrastructure off the Gujarat coast. The state government will partner with the Centre to set up necessary infrastructure along the coastline, including transmission networks.

The state government has identified five zones along the coastline conducive to offshore wind power generation. These zones have a combined area of 8,159sq km, and 37.2GW power could be produced in these five zones along the coast.
These zones are located along the Saurashtra, South Gujarat, and theGulf of Khambhatcoastlines.

Indian Railways has set a target of becoming a net-zero carbon emitter by 2030, said Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The Railways plans to achieve this ambitious target in two steps: A complete transition to electric trains by December 2023 and powering the trains and stations primarily through non-renewable sources by 2030.

For this, the Railways will need to create a installed capacity of 30,000 MW as solar and Wind Energy is not available round the clock and the generation varies region to region. Till August 2022, the installed renewable energy capacity of the Indian Railways was only 245 MW.

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi hailed the government’s approval tonano liquid DAPfertiliser, saying it was an important step towards making life easier for farmers.

Union Chemicalsand Fertilisers MinisterMansukh Mandaviyaon Saturday said the government has approved the launch of nano liquid DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertiliser for the benefits of farmers and making the country self-reliant.

Maharashtra, the state with the highest electricity demand in India, lags behind several others when it comes to energy transition to renewable sources. This is mainly due to slow uptake in the state and its inability to shut down older, polluting coal power Plants, said a report on Monday. It should nevertheless be considered that though Maharashtra lags on the transition parameter in Percentage terms, because of its greater net power generation, it has a higher reference point for a comparison with other states.

The report analysed sixteen Indian states, which together account for 90% of the country’s annual power requirement, across four dimensions.

According to the study, Rajasthan and Maharashtra showed low participation in green markets. It said that Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra have a huge potential to become renewable energy export hubs by utilising their untapped clean energy potential. These states have made limited efforts to participate in green market mechanisms likeGDAM(green day ahead market)