Offshore staff
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) and India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) published a conceptual plan in late November for 15 potential locations for offshore wind in India.
This is designed to complement dialogue on the MNRE's recently released draft tender document.
The two parties presented their joint study last month in Chennai as an activity of their joint initiative, the Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy, which supports India’s target of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
Their study outlines the screening process and a conceptual build plan for the selected zones offshore Tamil Nadu in southeast India, where 14 potential sites have been identified, and off Gujarat, northwest India (one site).
These correspond to the planned upcoming auctions announced by India’s government in July in its Strategy Paper for Offshore Wind.
In addition, the two parties presented a viability assessment of existing port infrastructure close to the coasts of the two states, including recommendations for upgrades and development such as quaysides and yards for the marshalling of wind turbine components.
Their report puts forward four initial sites in Tamil Nadu for the first auction of 4-GW-equivalent seabed area in 2022-2023 for leasing to undertake studies, surveys and subsequent project development under an open access model.
Adopting a relatively high-capacity density would allow for up to 25 GW across the identified areas in Tamil Nadu alone, they added.
12.16.2022