India's maiden Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) project is coming up in Kavaratti, capital of the Lakshadweep archipelago, off the south-western coast, after almost three and a half decades of initial plans.
Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), under the Earth Sciences Ministry, has now developed expertise in design, assembly and deployment of deep sea pipelines.
The current OTEC project is being set up to power a desalination plant. The power expected to be generated is under 200 kW. It is presently in the design phase and is likely to be commissioned early 2019.