Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Green Ammonia, SIGHT Program, National Green Hydrogen Mission.

Why in the News?

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has initiated the bidding process for a total capacity of 5.39 lakh Metric Tonnes (MT) per annum of Green Ammonia production.
- The initiative falls under Mode 2A of the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) Programme, part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission led by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).

What is Green Ammonia?

Green ammonia, also known as renewable ammonia, is a form of ammonia produced using renewable energy sources, which is proposed as a sustainable, emission-free alternative with a multitude of applications in industry and other sectors.
It is produced by combining nitrogen with hydrogen, which is generated through water electrolysis using renewable energy, and then reacting the hydrogen and nitrogen at high temperatures and pressures to form ammonia.

The National Green Hydrogen Mission was launched in January 2023.
- Objective: To make India a ‘global hub’ for using, producing and exporting green hydrogen.
Earlier, the National Hydrogen Mission was launched on August 15, 2021, with a view to cutting down carbon emissions and increasing the use of renewable sources of energy.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) formulates the scheme guidelines for the implementation of these missions.

Power capacity: The mission seeks to promote the development of a green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country by 2030.
Job creation: It envisages an investment of over ₹8 lakh crore and creation of over 6 lakh jobs by 2030.
Reducing energy import bill: It will also result in a cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports of over ₹1 lakh crore and abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Export promotion: The mission will facilitate demand creation, production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen.
Incentivization: Under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT), distinct financial incentive mechanisms are provided.
Green Hydrogen Hubs: Regions capable of supporting large-scale production and/or utilisation of hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs.

In the initial stage, two distinct financial incentive mechanisms proposed with an outlay of ₹ 17,490 crore up to 2029-30:

Depending upon the markets and technology development, specific incentive schemes and programmes will continue to evolve as the Mission progresses.

[2019] Consider the following statements:

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3