However, from the report it is evident that there have been no efforts made to understand any of these impacts on the local communities. To understand all these intricacies and the impacts of development of tidal power plants along such thriving ecosystems require detailed studies with a scientific approach. Through these methods of fishing, they do not only support themselves financially, but also gather nutritious food for themselves. The delta, gulf and creek areas are vastly used by the fisher communities for fishing using various traditional methods. Any small change in the composition of the creek or alterations in the flows can severely affect the ecology primarily and thereby the food security of the coastal communities and livelihoods of the fisherfolks. The delta, gulf and creek regions also have an intricate relationship with the coastal communities dependent on them for their food and livelihoods. The Sundarbans has been recognized as a world heritage site and has exceptional biodiversity. The Narmada river-creek is the only site along the western coast from where Hilsa fish travels upstream to its breeding ground, just like the salmon. The Gulf of Khambat is an important nesting and breeding ground and serves as a nursery for the marine flora. The Gulf of Kutch is a Marine National Park having several species of fishes, corals, marine flora and fauna and some protected large mammals like dugongs, porpoise and dolphins visit the gulf. All these three areas have unique, robust and diverse ecosystems. The major areas that were discussed as potential energy installations areas are the Gulf of Kutch, the Gulf of Khambat and the Gangetic delta in the Sundarbans. The committee had also noted that the barrage across an estuary can affect a wide area upstream as well as downstream. Throughout the Standing Committee report, it was repeatedly pointed out by the Standing Committee that there were no environmental impact studies undertaken by the Ministry. Both these projects were dropped by the respective Governments due to the high exorbitant cost and techno-economic non-viability. 15 crore per MW coming up to a total of 750 crore as estimated by M/s. The cost of the pilot tidal energy project in the Gulf of Kutch at Mandvi was estimated at Rs. The report stated that the cost of the tidal power plant in West Bengal was Rs. India had proposed to develop and install two projects having the capacity of 3.75 MW and 50 MW in Gangetic delta in the Sundarbans in West Bengal and Gulf of Kambhat and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat based on initial surveys. The study was funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA).Ī major concern that was raised by the committee in the report was regarding the cost of installation of the tidal energy. These findings were based on a study titled, “Tidal & Wave Energy in India: Survey on the Potential & Proposition of a Roadmap” published in December 2014. The states with the least tidal energy potential are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. As per the report, India has a potential of generating up to 12,455 MW of tidal energy with the highest potential of 10,425MW in Gujarat along the Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Khambat. The report was presented in the 17th Lok Sabha on Augand was also laid in the Rajya Sabha. In August this year, the Standing Committee on Energy’s 20th report on tidal power development in India sheds a light on the status of the tidal energy research and development in India. However, it has been stuck in the research stage and implementation seems to be a far-reaching fruit. India has also been researching and has plans to develop tidal energy. However, this power plant was built with an investment of over $100 million which achieved break-even only after 20 years of generating energy. Tidal energy is predictable and produces energy at a steady rate unlike wind and solar energy. Built across the estuary of the Rance River in Brittany, France, the power plant is the second largest tidal power plant in the world using the barrage technology. Inaugurated in November 1966 the installed capacity of the power plant is 240 MW using 24 turbines. Over 50 years old, the La Rance tidal power plant is the oldest tidal energy power plant.
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