Parliament panel suggests viability gap funding for offshore wind projects

Parliament panel suggests viability gap funding for offshore wind projects

Subject : Geography

Section: Economic geography

Context: The committee also observed that even as offshore wind power is costly compared to onshore wind power, the latter has a significantly higher CUF compared to the former. Further, as per global trends, the cost of offshore wind energy reduces gradually with an increase in cumulative installed capacity, the panel said.

• According to the initial analysis carried out by the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), the annual average CUF of offshore wind energy projects in India ranges between 35-55 per cent for Tamil Nadu and 35-40 per cent for Gujarat.
• In the case of onshore wind energy projects in India, the annual average CUF would range between 25-40 per cent, the Ministry pointed out. However, at present, onshore wind power projects are more cost-effective than offshore wind energy.

Offshore wind energy In India

• 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.

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.