Offshore wind energy In India

Offshore wind energy In India

Subject: Geography

Section: Physical Geography

Context:

The Ministry’s ‘Strategy Paper for Establishment of Offshore Wind Energy Projects’ demonstrates the government’s growing seriousness about offshore

Content:

• Out of the total renewable energy installation capacity of 78 GW, wind energy contributes to more than 35 GW as on March 2019 and the national target is to achieve 60 GW of wind energy installations by 2022.

About Offshore Wind Energy:

• Wind energy today typically comes in two different “types”: onshore wind farms which are large installations of wind turbines located on land, and offshore wind farms which are installations located in bodies of water.
• Offshore wind energy refers to the deployment of wind farms inside the water bodies. They utilise the sea winds to generate electricity. These wind farms either use fixed-foundation turbines or floating wind turbines.
  • A fixed-foundation turbine is built in shallow water, whereas a floating wind turbine is built in deeper waters where its foundation is anchored in the seabed. Floating wind farms are still in their infancy.
• Offshore wind farms must be at least 200 nautical miles from the shore and 50 feet deep in the ocean.
  • Offshore wind turbines produce electricity which is returned to shore through cables buried in the ocean floor.
• The national offshore wind energy policy has been notified on October 2015 to provide a legal framework for development of the offshore wind sector in India.
• Wind resource measurement campaign deploying light detection and ranging (LiDARs) along with geophysical, geotechnical, and oceanographic studies in selected zones off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu needs to be carried out.
• The government has planned to develop the first offshore wind energy project of 1 GW capacity in the identified zone-B off the coast of Gujarat in a commercial scale.
• Interested private players can also carry out the required studies/surveys for establishment of offshore wind projects within the EEZ of India under the ‘Guidelines for Offshore Wind Power Assessment Studies and Surveys’ issued by NIWE.

About National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE)

• National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has been established in Chennai in the year 1998, as an autonomous R&D institution by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India.
• It is a knowledge-based institution of high quality and dedication, offers services and seeks to find complete solutions for the kinds of difficulties and improvements in the entire spectrum of the wind energy sector by carrying out further research.
• It has a Wind Turbine Test Station (WTTS) at Kayathar with the technical & partial financial support by DANIDA, Govt. of Denmark.