IIT Roorkee to Host International Workshop on Hydrokinetic Technology
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The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee is hosting an international workshop on Hydrokinetic Technology from 6th-8th September, 2013, under its Centre of Excellence research and development initiative. The prime objective of the workshop would be to generate awareness about hydrokinetic technology and its potential for being used as a source of renewable energy.Participants and Speakers The workshop received more than 45 participants from all parts of India, including the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, Defense Institute of Bio-Energy Research, DIBER-DRDO, and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited, NVVNL-NTPC. The manufacturers and industry stakeholders represented included the Canadian Hydrokinetic Turbine Test Center, Energy Miner, Tidal Sails, TERI, Kirloskar Brothers Group, Swasti Power Pvt. Ltd., and Flovel Energy Pvt. Ltd., Maini Renewables, and MACLEC Pvt. Ltd. were present at the workshop. Scores of academic institutes such as IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Madras, SCET Surat, BBEC Assam, and BITS Pilani showcased their latest research on hydrokinetic energy designs.The workshop comprised four prominent international speakers joining online from Canada, Norway, Malaysia, and Germany who shared their research.
The workshop participated in a number of sessions on hydrokinetic technology, covering overview, methods for hydrokinetic site potential evaluation, and existing and future hydrokinetic technologies by local and foreign delegates.Hydrokinetic Technology: Its Importance The workshop presented societal effects and impacts of hydrokinetic technology on society. It indicated that hydrokinetic technology is going to be a game changer in energy generation with minimal environmental degradation. This clean and sustainable alternative to traditional energy sources is able to offer reliable electricity to remote and unserved communities, hence bridging the energy gap. The role played by hydrokinetic technology regarding reduced carbon emissions and fighting climate change was also discussed at the workshop.Future Direction The experts who attended a workshop on this matter stressed that further research is still needed for the surmounting of these deployment barriers and enhancements of technical parameters related to computational fluid dynamics and design efficiency. This is what will propel the industry to TRL 9 by the year 2030: Technology that is advanced, scalable, and integrated into communities in driving economic growth, job creation, and a sustainable future.
Conclusion: The international workshop on hydrokinetic technology, hosted by IIT Roorkee, brought together participants from India and abroad to discuss and explore prospects pertaining to hydrokinetic energy. This event importantly showcased that hydrokinetic energy is one of the renewable energies vital for a sustainable future and underlined the fact that much research and innovation is still needed in this sector.
