Posted on June 13, 2022
The Indian government on Thursday announced the first steps in developing offshore wind power and outlined a strategy and timetable for starting auctions. The first auctions are expected in the next three to four months with an initial strategy outlined for the development of at least 10 to 12 GW of offshore wind turbines.
“During the meeting, the transmission and evacuation infrastructure required for offshore wind projects of a total capacity of 10 GW off the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu were discussed,” the Ministry of Energy said in an announcement posted on its website on Thursday. June 9. “After a detailed review, it was decided to tender offshore wind power blocks.”
Exploration of the potential of wind power began in India in 2015. While the country has yet to hold auctions and establish its projects, the government points to the great potential of wind power. They point out that India has more than 4,700 miles of coastline, with the subcontinent surrounded by water on three sides. Early government plans called for 30 GW of wind capacity to be leased by 2030. In its global assessment for potential offshore wind power generation, the World Bank set long-term targets for India of up to 174 GW of offshore wind power nearly per Same. divided between fixed and floating bottom installations.
The recently released plan targets two regions for the first sites. One is in southeastern India in the state of Tamil Nadu, which has the capital of Chennai. The first auctions will focus on this area targeting 4 GW of capacity. The second region is in northwestern India in the state of Gujarat, near Karachi.
Starting this year, the government says it will offer 4 GW of capacity annually in each of the next three years. In the next five years they aim to auction a total of 5 GW per year.
The tender for the first 12 GW will be carried out in a “single-stage two-envelope model” in which bidders will be evaluated based on their techno-commercial capabilities and only technically qualified bidders will proceed to financial evaluation. The financial assessment will be based on the quoted rental rate per square kilometer of seabed area. The bidder offering the highest rental rate per square kilometer of seabed area would be declared the winner of the project award.
As incentives to attract strong bids, the government reports that up to 8 GW of green attribute benefits such as carbon credits will be offered for the first two years of capacity. For the entire scope of the project through 2029-30, evacuation and transmission of power from offshore cluster substations to onshore transmission will be provided free of charge for all wind farm projects.
