Tata Power teams up with Germany’s RWE to explore offshore wind projects in India

• Partnership aims to support the establishment of a competitive and sustainable offshore wind market
• If clear regulations and an effective tender scheme are in place, we expect India's offshore wind industry will gain a real momentum, the CEO Wind Offshore of RWE Renewables said

New Delhi: Tata Power and Germany's RWE have inked an agreement to explore the potential for a joint development of offshore wind projects in India. "A corresponding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited, a 100 percent subsidiary of Tata Power, and RWE Renewables GmbH, one of the world's leaders in offshore wind," said Tata Power in a statement on Monday. The MoU between Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited and RWE becomes significant in the light of the government's announcement of achieving 30 GW of offshore wind installations by 2030 to meet the country's growing power demands.

India is an unexplored and highly attractive market to develop opportunities for offshore wind as it has a large coastline of about 7,600 kilometres. RWE and Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited possess complementary strengths and will enable the establishment of a competitive offshore wind market in India, said the statement. 

Expect India's offshore wind industry to gain a real momentum: RWE CEO

Sven Utermöhlen, CEO Wind Offshore of RWE Renewables, said, "India has excellent wind resources, which can help to meet the country's increasing energy demands. If clear regulations and an effective tender scheme are in place, we expect India's offshore wind industry will gain a real momentum. RWE wants to be part of this development."

He added, "With Tata Power we have an outstanding and experienced partner at our side which is deeply rooted locally and shares our ambition to drive the growth of offshore wind in India. Combined with RWE's 20 years' track record in developing, constructing and operating offshore wind projects, we are well placed to supply green energy from offshore wind as competitively as possible for the Indian society."

Talking about the collaboration, Dr Praveer Sinha, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Power, said, "RWE is our ideal partner to support Tata Power's plans to enhance and grow offshore wind business based on its global expertise in running and operating offshore wind projects. In view of the Indian Government's heightened focus on offshore wind farms to address the country's expanding electricity demands, the collaboration becomes even more significant."

Offshore wind market in India 

The government is in the process of conducting detailed technical studies and devising the regulatory framework to establish the first auctions for offshore wind of the coast of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Offshore wind has the potential to spur significant infrastructure investment in these states and to support local job creation. To facilitate the establishment of an offshore wind market in India, RWE and Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited will conduct technical and commercial site assessments, said the statement. In addition, the companies are looking into an evaluation of the Indian offshore wind supply chain and supporting infrastructure, such as ports and grid connections, to identify the local strengths as well as necessary development potential.

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