India ahead of other nations in green hydrogen sector: Union minister Joshi

Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said India is ahead of other countries in the field of green hydrogen.

The Union government has floated a tender for the world's largest green ammonia demonstration project, he said during a visit to a floating solar plant in the Omkareshwar Dam in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district. Further, the work of offshore wind power projects is underway and tenders have been invited in Gujarat, the minister told reporters. "When we talk about offshore wind power, it means installing windmills in the sea, which requires development and upgradation of ports and transmission infrastructure. Along with this, work on geothermal (power) is also underway, though it is at the primary stage," Joshi said.  A revolution is taking place in the field of solar energy, and India is becoming the world leader in renewable energy, he said. "India is ahead in the field of green hydrogen, compared to other countries. We have floated a tender for green ammonia which is the world's biggest (project)," he said. The solar plant in Omkareshwar Dam is one of its kind and produces 278 megawatts of power, the minister noted.

"This plant is providing electricity to Delhi Metro. I am thinking about how can we do this in other parts of the country where there is potential. There is potential of 90 gigawatts power generation but very little has been done," he said. Officials and leaders from other states and energy experts, especially from regions where there are large dams, should come here and see this project to replicate it elsewhere so that the target of 500 gigawatts (of non-fossil energy) by 2030 and 1800 gigawatt by 2047 could be achieved, the minister said. While India needs electricity, it should come from sustainable sources, Joshi said.