Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has released a draft national offshore wind energy policy for 2013. The draft policy was written with inputs from a steering committee on offshore wind energy. According to the draft, onshore wind energy has reached a stage of deployment that makes it competitive with traditional fossil fuel power generation.
This level of cost competitiveness is thanks to supportive public policy that has, so far, not been extended to include offshore wind energy, according to the draft. About 5 gw of offshore wind generation capacity is installed worldwide, with an equal amount in development or under construction.
Top countries in the offshore wind market include the UK, Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. The EU set a goal of 40 gw in offshore wind capacity by 2020 and 150 gw by 2030. In India, the top areas in offshore wind potential are the coastlines of Karnataka, Kerala and Goa.
Wind resource data gathered from the coastlines of Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat also show a potential of about 1 gw. Obstacles to offshore wind deployment include resource identification, power grid interconnection and operation, and the development of adequate transmission infrastructure, according to the draft.
The Ministry’s role in the deployment of offshore wind will include monitoring offshore wind development in the country, coordination with other ministries and departments, issuing guidelines and directives for development of offshore wind energy, overseeing the working of National Offshore Wind Energy Authority and extending necessary support and promoting indigenous research for technology development.
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