India sets 30GW offshore wind target by 2030

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set medium- and long-term targets for offshore wind, aiming to add 5GW by 2022 and 30GW by 2030.

The offshore wind targets are on top of what the world’s fourth largest wind market is targeting onshore – 60GW of wind capacity and 175GW of renewables capacity overall by 2022. As of February, the country had installed 107.81GW of renewables capacity, according to India Brand Equity Foundation , a government-backed entity.

“While this may look moderate in comparison to India’s onshore wind target of 60GW and its achievement of 34GW and solar target of 100GW by 2022, this would still be challenging considering the difficulties in installing large wind power turbines in open seas,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that offshore wind turbines are of much larger dimensions and capacities their onshore equivalents.

The ministry called for an expression of interest In April for the first 1GW offshore wind project off the coast of Gujarat, which it said “has evoked keen response from the industry, both global and Indian”.

In October 2015, the Indian government formulated the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy to explore the potential of offshore wind power in India. To that end, Norway-based energy consultancy firm DNV GL was commissioned to conduct a study on the commercial and technical feasibility of the offshore wind market in India.

Earlier this week, the Norwegian firm presented the results of the multi-year study, Facilitating Offshore Wind in India, which was co-funded by the European Union, the state-run Gujarat Power Corporation and Indian private renewables developer ReNew Power.

According to DNV GL, the study focused on the states of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu to identify potential zones of development through preliminary resource and feasibility assessments for future offshore wind developments, as well as techno-commercial analysis and preliminary resource assessment.

“At the start of this project nearly four years ago, offshore wind in India was no more than a distant vision,” DNV GL’s chief executive Ditlev Engel said in a statement. “Today, however, India has a specific offshore wind policy, a government actively ‘gearing up’ for offshore and local and overseas stakeholders proactively considering this new endeavour. These are significant steps to a greener energy future for India.”

The MNRE and DNV GL had not responded to queries seeking further comment at the time of publication.