Govt will start bidding offshore wind power projects this year: MNRE Secretary

New Delhi: The government is working on the final framework for offshore wind power projects and is confident about starting the bidding process this year, said Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on Thursday. “We are working very, very actively to bring out the final framework for bidding in the offshore wind sector. We will start bidding this year,” said Bhalla while delivering the keynote address at an event organised as part of the worldwide celebrations on Global Wind Day on June 15.

“Held with an intent to celebrate the success so far and discuss the potential ways forward for accelerating wind energy adoption in India, the event had the central theme of “Pawan – Urja: Powering the Future of India”. The celebration featured in-depth discussions on Wind Energy Progress in India, Offshore Wind development, Strengthening of wind energy manufacturing ecosystem and Green Finance for Wind Energy,” said the MNRE in a statement.

Offshore wind bidding framework to have two categories

The Secretary said that the bidding framework for offshore wind projects will have two categories — one will be initial kick-off projects which would receive Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and another will be a non-VGF category where projects will be allotted on a competitive basis.

“One of our targets is to reach the installation of 10-15 GW of wind power projects per annum. Looking at the pace of the progress, we should be able to achieve this target,” said the MNRE Secretary. Referring to an issue raised by wind power developers regarding defence clearances where their applications have been turned out without any reason, the Secretary said, “Currently, we are looking to resolve the issue of defence clearances brought up by wind power developers. We are very confident that we will resolve the issue in our favour.”

Bhalla emphasised that the government is fully committed to achieve the target of 500 GW renewable energy capacity by the year 2030. He applauded the contribution of all states with wind potential, in the development of the wind energy sector.

Wind power: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu felicitated for achievements

The Secretary congratulated the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for their achievements during the financial year 2022-23. Rajasthan was felicitated for achieving the highest wind capacity addition, Gujarat for achieving the highest wind capacity addition through open access and Tamil Nadu for initiating repowering of wind turbines.

The event also witnessed the launch of Wind Atlas at 150 meters above ground level, prepared by the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE). The onshore wind potential of the country is now estimated at 1,164 GW at 150 meter above ground level.

The event had the active participation of central and state government authorities, wind turbine manufacturers and developers, international and domestic financial institutions, Central Public Sector Enterprises, academia, think-tanks, and other key stakeholders.

The celebration was organised in collaboration with the National Institute of Wind Energy, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association, Indian Wind Power Association, and Wind Independent Power Producers Association.

“India has made great strides in the generation of wind energy over the years, and it now ranks fourth in wind power capacity in the world. Wind energy is crucial to India's efforts to achieve its goal of having 50 percent of its electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030 and to achieve Net Zero by 2070. India has significant potential for both onshore and offshore wind energy production. With the continuous efforts from the government, the country has developed around 15 GW of domestic wind manufacturing capacity, making it Aatma Nirbhar,” said the MNRE.

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