India identifies offshore wind energy potential of 70,000 MW along Gujarat, TN coasts.

The government has planned to develop the first off-shore wind energy project of 1 GW capacity off the coast of Gujarat.

New Delhi: India has an estimated offshore wind energy potential to generate around 70,000 Megawatt (Mw) power, most of that identified in coastal Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, according to the ministry of new andrenewable energy (MNRE). 

“Initial studies indicate offshore wind energy potential of about 70 Gigawatt (GW) within the identified zones in the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu only,” the ministry told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy.

Ministry is planning to develop the first offshore wind energy project of 1 GW capacity off the coast of Gujarat. The required geophysical study for 365 square km has already been completed and the geo-technical and met-ocean studies are under progress. The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has floated the expression of interest (EoI) for this first offshore wind energy project of India.

All the stage-I clearances as per national offshore wind energy policy has been obtained for the proposed 1 GW project. Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed offshore project is being carried out by National institute of Oceanography, Goa.

The parliamentary panel has also recommended that MNRE should encourage wind–solar hybrid projects as much as possible in order to minimize the intermittency of renewable power.

"Wind and solar energy are complementary and hybridizing these two would help in minimizing the variability apart from optimally utilizing the infrastructure, including land and transmission system," the panel said in its recommendations to the ministry.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has awarded three wind-solar hybrid projects of 1,440 MW capacity in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu and issued a tender to install 160 MW capacity of wind-solar hybrid projects in Andhra Pradesh. 

The parliamentary committee also suggested the Ministry should strive for maximum indigenization of wind turbines manufacturing, achievement of the target of 5 GW of off-shore wind capacity by 2022 and developing maximum offshore wind capacity of the 70 Gw potential in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

2 January 2020

Energyworld.com