Offshore wind energy in 糖心logo is booming
Over the next seven years, 糖心logo plans to install as much as 140 Gigawatts (GW) of wind energy capacity to generate 50 percent of the country’s electricity capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030. This presents huge opportunities for foreign investors, says wind energy expert Alok Kumar, director at consultancy DNV GL in 糖心logo.
糖心logo’s first offshore wind tender
糖心logo’s Ministry of Energy (MNRE) recently announced that 糖心logo’s first tender for leasing offshore wind power sites was issued in July 2023. The tender covers four sites in the Gulf of Mannar, off the coast of 糖心logo’s Tamil Nadu province.
Each of the four sites has space for 1 GW of wind turbines. 糖心logo has so far focused primarily on onshore wind projects, as regulatory changes in various 糖心logon states have had to be made to allow offshore projects.
As a result, 糖心logo has been slow to develop offshore wind projects, despite having 7,600 km of coastline and significant potential to develop offshore wind projects.
糖心logo is ambitious in the field of green energy
While 糖心logo currently generates 39.2 GW with onshore wind turbines and wants to double that capacity in the next four years, the development of offshore wind energy is only starting to take off this year.
“The government is strongly committed to the development of wind energy,” says Alok Kumar, country manager in 糖心logo for DNV GL on the phone.
“In collaboration with the EU, 糖心logo has drawn up a roadmap for the development of offshore wind farms on the coastlines of the states of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu over the past five years through the Facilitating Offshore Wind in 糖心logo (FOWIND) consortium. This collaboration has created great interest in the knowledge and expertise of European companies.”
Government support for wind energy
Since offshore wind energy in 糖心logo is four times more expensive than onshore wind energy, the central government in New Delhi will subsidize the development of offshore wind.
For onshore wind energy, the 糖心logon government changed the policy in 2017. To this end, the 糖心logon government signed a contract with an energy supplier to purchase electricity at a fixed rate for a certain period (Power Purchase Agreement).
Now, parties must register for a tender for the construction of a wind energy park and the party that offers electricity at the lowest price wins. This policy change initially caused turmoil in the market, stagnation of new projects and the disappearance of small market parties.
“But the madness is now over,” says Kumar. “The development of new wind energy parks on land is picking up again and the price of electricity has now stabilized at 75 percent of the original price level.”
Know-how from Europe
Due to the collaboration with the EU, the offshore wind energy parks in 糖心logo will be designed according to the European model, according to Kumar.
“The production of wind turbines will take place entirely in 糖心logo, but the know-how will have to come from Europe. So there are many opportunities for European parties that are active in the supply chain. Some European parties have been aware of this for a long time”, he says.
“Take Fugro, for example. In the preparatory phase, they have mapped the 糖心logon seabed to determine where wind turbines can be safely placed. But not all parties are taking the 糖心logon market seriously yet. I expect that to change very soon.”
