To pursue its ambitious target of 30GW of offshore wind by 2030, India has published a conceptual plan identifying 15 priority zones to locate offshore windfarms. The plan will act as a government technical guide for the upcoming auction of offshore wind sites.
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) released the auction plan for offshore wind in June. It then updated the auction plan in July, detailing the auction models and applicable government incentives for successful bidders.
Last week, MNRE went ahead to issue a draft tender to lease seabed areas off Tamil Nadu’s coast for four gigawatts of offshore wind project capacity during 2022-2023.
The conceptual plan identifying the 15 locations was presented on Wednesday at an event in Chennai. It is part of a study conducted by the Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy, a joint initiative between India’s MNRE and the Danish Energy Agency (DEA). It launched in 2021 as part of Denmark’s support to India, and draws on Denmark’s long track record of successfully developing offshore wind.
One of the key focal areas of this cooperation is on maritime spatial planning in offshore wind development. The plan builds on an earlier study by MNRE and India’s National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), which found that of the 4,722 miles of the Indian coastline, the southern tip (Tamil Nadu) and the west coast (Gujarat) had the best potential for offshore wind development.
Of the 15 identified zones for initial possible leasing, 14 are off the coast of Tamil Nadu and the other one off the coast of Gujarat. The plan estimates that the identified sites off Tamil Nadu can support up to 25 GW wind energy development.
The Center for Excellence for Offshore Wind also presented results of a viability assessment for existing port infrastructure in proximity to coasts of the two states. These ports will require significant upgrades to quaysides and yards, which are necessary for marshalling of wind turbine components.
“The joint projects on maritime spatial planning and port infrastructure have provided significant output for the draft tender document that is currently under stakeholder consultation as well the upcoming tenders for offshore wind in India. The Danish approach and experience has been very helpful to advance this and has brought great value to take us forward and reach 30 GW by 2030,” said Shri Dinesh Jagdale, Joint Secretary for Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
