The government plans to issue India’s first offshore wind tender in about four to six weeks as it intends to put out bids for installing around 37 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, in phases.
Both Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have agreed to purchase power from the initial offshore wind projects off the respective coasts for around Rs 4 per unit for the first few projects. As per Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, a viability gap funding is also planned for the initial part of offshore wind capacity. A series of bids will follow from 2023 through 2030 to add this capacity, and five GW is likely to be placed for bidding for the current year.
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu will leverage their 1,600 km and 1,076 km coastline, respectively. In Tamil Nadu, the wind speed is 9.5-10 mtrs. per second, making it a Class-one site in line with international technical standards. As per MNRE, India has a realistic potential of 400-500 GW in the sector.
According to the Global Wind Energy Council, the world by 2030 may achieve 380 GW of installed offshore wind power and by 2050, touch 2,000 GW.
