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| INDIAN NAVY – BLUEWATER OPERATIONS WITH A GREEN FOOTPRINT |
New Delhi (Lisbon Times):- The Navy, as a self-driven and environmentally responsible force, has always been
committed to environmental protection and green initiatives. As guardian of
the seas, the Navy employs a number of ships, submarines, and aircraft that have
high energy intensity. With diminishing fossil energy resources there is an
emerging need to ensure increased energy efficiency in every operation and
process the Navy undertakes. Towards the same, the Navy has adopted a
comprehensive ‘Indian Navy Environment Conservation Roadmap (INECR)’
for synergizing the aim of ‘Blue Water Operations with a Green Footprint’
The Navy’s concerted efforts of formulation and implementation of numerous
policies aimed towards energy efficiency and environmental protection have yielded
good results which are evident in all Naval establishments. Some of the
noteworthy initiatives towards ‘Clean and Green Navy’, with all social
distancing/ COVID 19 protocols in-force, is elaborated in succeeding
paragraphs.
Indian Navy commissioned one of its largest solar plant with a capacity
of 3MW at Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala in July 2020. Another
2MW solar power plant was installed at Naval Station Karanja, Mumbai in July
2020. With this, the overall installed solar plant capacity at Naval Stations
is 11 MW. These plants are grid-connected utilizing the state of art single-axis sun-tracking technology with computerized monitoring & control. The
installation of SPVs are in line with the Navy’s objective of fulfilling Govt of India’s
‘Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)’ mission.
30,000 saplings have been planted towards continuous afforestation, over the course of the preceding year to mitigate an estimated 630 tonnes of CO2 / year. Further, the viability of setting up urban forests concepts such as Miyawaki forests, coastal afforestation including restoration of mangroves is being emphasized to match the theme of World Environment Day 2021- ‘Ecosystem Restoration’
A mangrove plantation drive was conducted by Southern Naval Command, Kochi in association with Kerala Forest The department along the Venduruthy channel on the occasion of ‘World River day’, in which approximately 200 saplings were planted. HQSNC with INS Venduruthy in the lead has always been engaged in the preservation of the environment and energy conservation which bestowed the station with the prestigious ‘Golden Peacock Environment Management Award (GPEMA) for the year 2020 in Government (Defence) sector.
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As a part of the ‘Swachhta Sewa’ campaign, Naval stations carried out clean ship drives, clearing of storm/rainwater drains, pruning of hedges and maintenance of gardens. Also as a part of ‘International Coastal Clean-up Day’ celebrations various Naval units undertook Coastal Clean-up Drives strictly adhering to COVID-19 protocol.
The progressive adoption of Battery Operated E-Vehicles for transportation of men and material have marked the reduction of dependence on fossils fuels thus reducing carbon emissions. Further, to reduce dependence on fossil-fuel-based vehicles, units observe ‘No Vehicle Days’ regularly.
Towards combating oil-spill at Naval harbors, eco-friendly marine bio-remedial agents have been indigenously developed through NMRL. The state-of-the-art technology is unique in the maritime domain. The product consists of a combination of micro-organisms and their growth stimulant, which consume various types of oils such as diesel, lubricating, dirty oils, etc, thus cleaning the seawater from any oil contamination and its consequent damage to the marine ecosystem. The technology has been inducted into the Indian Navy in June 2020.
With a view to reducing the overall carbon footprint and to bring down the effects of global warming, the Indian Navy is ‘Geared Up and Committed’ to march towards pursuance of Green Initiatives, realizing the national aim, to ensure a ‘Greener and Cleaner future for our next generations’.
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