Gujarat, UK firm sign MoU for assessing tidal power resources

The Gujarat Power Corporation and UK-based Atlantis Resources Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding for assessing the state's assessing resources.

"The Gujarat Power Corporation (GPCL) and Atlantis Resources Corporation of UK has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for developing the tidal power projects of 100 MW or more capacity and to assess the state's tidal power resources," the state's Energy Minister Saurabh Patel told PTI today.

The MoU was signed yesterday by GPCL's General Manager Y C Potdar and Chief Exexcutive Officer of Atlantis Timothy Cornelius, he said.

After tapping wind energy, the state government is undertaking this study for power generation from tidal waves, Patel said.

"The Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Cambay have potentially huge tidal power resource and that Atlantis was committed to helping Gujarat achieve a leading international position in tidal power generation by tapping this potential," the minister said.

Tidal power turbines convert kinetic energy present in flowing water in the ocean into electricity, which is then despatched to local grid for industrial consumption, Cornelius said.

The initial study scope will focus on the technical and economic feasibility of tidal power as source of sustainable, renewable power in the state, he said.

The potential project size could be in hundreds of millions of dollars investment in tidal turbines and associated power export infrastructure, he said.

Atlantis Resources Corporation is one of the leading developer of tidal power technology and its shareholders include the US investment bank Morgan Stanley and the Norwegian state-owned utility, Statkraft.