Consider fishermen’s interests in offshore wind projects: Rajaa

Chennai: Tamil Nadu has the potential to deploy 10 GW of offshore wind energy, state industries minister TRB Rajaa said. He was speaking at the Envision Energy Festival at IIT Madras Research Park here on Thursday. “The state government is very keen on offshore wind energy and we are bullish about its prospects,” he added. Union government has already opened tenders for offshore wind energy projects but TN will make sure it considers the impact on environment and fishermen as well. “Offshore wind projects might affect the livelihoods of the fishing community which we have to take into account as well,” the minister added.The focus on inclusive green growth is part of the state government’s agenda and there is a 1,000 crore venture capital fund for green projects as well, he said. Apart from offshore wind energy projects, green hydrogen is also a focus area for government but “green hydrogen is not green without pumped storage. So we need to be clear about where we pump the water to,” he said. There are several locations on the Eastern Ghats that are being considered. As for producing hydrogen at sea from floating platform electrolyzers, “I don’t like the idea of cables running over coral reefs which is also something we need to keep in mind,” he added. Emphasising that offshore wind energy is a core in Tamil Nadu’s renewable energy mission, environmental concernsshould be considered while executing offshore wind energy projects in the state, he said.