WBCS Preliminary Examination 2023 — General Studies · Question 51 of 200

Answer: (C) Madras/Chennai

OTEC produces power from the temperature difference (about 20°C or more) between warm surface water and cold deep water in tropical seas. India's OTEC efforts have centred on Tamil Nadu: a 1 MW plant was proposed off the Tamil Nadu coast in the early 1980s, and the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, later built an experimental 1 MW floating OTEC plant and now runs low-temperature thermal desalination (LTTD) plants in Lakshadweep, which work on the same principle. Hence Madras/Chennai is the answer; Kolkata, Haldia and Paradip have no OTEC link. For tidal energy, the potential sites are the Gulf of Khambhat, the Gulf of Kachchh and the Sundarbans.