Cabinet okays policy for offshore wind energy

NEW DELHI, September 9: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved National Offshore Wind Energy Policy which will pave the way for development of this renewable source of energy, including setting up of projects and research in the area. "The Cabinet will fix policy guidelines for offshore wind energy in the coming days," Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said in a press conference after a Cabinet meeting here. "Under the policy, there will be energy mapping of the country and locations with high potential will be identified. After that the government will seek required approval from various departments like space, defence and shipping, before finally putting these projects for bidding." According to an official statement, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will be the nodal ministry for use of offshore areas within EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of the country. Moreover, National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) will be the nodal agency for development of offshore wind energy in the country and to carry out allocation of offshore Wind Energy blocks, coordination and allied functions with related ministries and agencies, it said. It further said that the approval paves the way for offshore wind energy development including setting up of offshore wind power projects and research and development activities in waters, in or adjacent to the country, up to the seaward distance of 200 nautical miles (EEZ of country) from the baseline. The minister said, "we have assessed the capacity of offshore wind power. There is a potential of generating 1,06,000 MW power through offshore wind source on Gujarat's coastline alone and (it is).. 60,000 MW on Tamil Nadu's coastline." According to the statement, the preliminary assessments along the 7,600 km long Indian coastline have indicated prospects of development of offshore wind power. The policy will provide a level playing field to all investors/beneficiaries, domestic and international. All the processes would be carried out in a transparent manner by NIWE. The policy will help the country move forward towards attaining energy security. The policy would be applicable throughout the country depending upon offshore wind potential availability. India has achieved significant success in the onshore wind power development, with over 23 GW of wind energy capacity already installed and generating power. India targets 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW of solar, 60 GW of wind power, 10 GW of biomass-fired power and 5 GW of small hydro power.