The Danish Energy Agency and the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy have published a conceptual plan with a pipeline identifying 15 locations for offshore wind in India.
The conceptual plan provides “substantial inputs” to the stakeholder dialogue on the recently released draft tender document from the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
The joint study was presented at a high-level event in Chennai, India on 23 November 2022 as an activity under the Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy, a joint initiative between the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) and MNRE.
It highlights a conceptual build plan for the selected zones off the coast of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat and is based on Denmark’s approach to maritime spatial planning for offshore wind.
The projects provide “significant input” to the undergoing stakeholder consultation on the draft tender document for the first offshore wind parks in India, released by MNRE on 14 November.
The conceptual build-out plan proposes identification of 14 sites in Tamil Nadu (south east India) and one site in Gujarat (north west India) corresponding to the planned upcoming auctions announced in the Strategy Paper for Offshore Wind, released by Government of India in July 2022.
The report puts forward four initial sites in Tamil Nadu for the first auction of 4GW equivalent seabed in 2022-2023 for leasing to carryout required studies and surveys and subsequent project development under an open access model (under model-3 of the strategy paper).
Adopting a relatively high capacity density would allow for up to 25GW across the identified areas in Tamil Nadu alone.
This provides a clear pipeline and contribution to the 30GW government target for offshore wind in 2030.
A dedicated port infrastructure study identifies a set of ports off the Tamil Nadu and Gujarat coasts that fulfil basic navigation and access criteria to support installation of wind turbines and foundations.
However, these ports require significant upgrades in key infrastructure such as quaysides and yards, which are necessary for the marshalling of wind turbine components. Therefore, a set of development alternatives are proposed for each port.
“The joint projects on maritime spatial planning and port infrastructure have provided significant inputs for the draft tender document that is currently under stakeholder consultation as well as 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 30GW by 2030,” said Dinesh Jagdale, Joint Secretary, MNRE.