Islands surrounded by sea on all sides have two biggest challenges – fresh drinking water and cheap energy. In Lakshadweep, only the sea is going to provide the solution to both of these. A plant is being built in the capital Kavaratti which will generate electricity from the temperature difference of the sea and in the same process will convert sea water into drinking water. The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences has started work on such a revolutionary technology, which will become an example for the world by the end of this year. This will be the world’s first hybrid plant that will generate pure water from ocean waves and electricity 24 hours a day. The new plant is based on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology. In this, hot water from the sea surface and cold water from the deep sea will be used. Steam will be created by putting hot water in a vacuum, this steam will generate electricity by rotating the turbine. Sweet water will then be prepared by cooling the steam with cold water brought from the deep sea. The new plant will produce 1 lakh liters of sweet water daily and will generate the required electricity on its own. There will be no need of diesel or electricity to run it. Low temperature thermal desalination technology is currently being used. Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh has described this project as the basis of future ‘energy security’. Water is already being produced through low temperature thermal desalination technology on 8 islands of Lakshadweep. In these plants, sweet water is prepared by steaming sea water and then cooling it. However, to run them, electricity had to be provided from a diesel generator. What will be the working of the new plant… The most exciting and complex part of the innovative plant being built in Kavaratti is to bring cold water from the deep sea. For this, the team of scientists is laying a huge pipeline of about 3.8 km long. This 900 mm diameter ‘high density polyethylene’ pipeline will cut through the ocean and bring up icy water from 1000 meters below. The work of welding it and placing it in the sea in the lagoon area of Kavaratti is going on at a fast pace. We will bring icy water from 1000 meter depth of the sea. The entire Lakshadweep needs only 10-12 MW of electricity daily. Presently Lakshadweep is dependent on diesel generators for electricity. Bringing diesel via ship from the mainland is expensive and also risky for the marine environment. To run a normal desalination plant, 55 MW of electricity is required, which currently comes from diesel. The new plant will automatically generate 65 MW of electricity daily. Interestingly, the daily demand for the entire Lakshadweep is just 10-12 MW. That means, along with meeting its own needs, this plant will also provide additional clean energy to other islands.
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समंदर का पानी पी सकेंगे, लक्षद्वीप में बन रहा प्लांट: यह 1000 मी गहराई से पानी लाकर पीने लायक बनाएगा; 24 घंटे बिजली भी मिलेगी
