India Climate Dialogue
India’s wind energy sector is in the midst of preparing a roadmap to unlock the potential of offshore farms and to devise ways to integrate them with the onshore power grids.
The rapid technological advancement in offshore wind energy and the decline in cost of installing and running offshore wind farms could power the next wave of adding renewable energy capacity in India. Gone are the times when onshore wind energy made all the news. Now, its counterpart, offshore, is not only making waves, it is also being hailed as one of the most efficient ways to power a nation.
Offshore wind power is becoming increasingly cost-effective with installations close to 14.5 GW at the end of 2016, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). India has the world’s fourth largest onshore wind market with a total installed capacity of over 32.6 GW. “Since the country does have an acute need for large-scale, clean and indigenous energy generation to fuel its rapidly growing economy, offshore wind power could play a very important role here due to the large wind resources available near centres of high-energy demand,” GWEC said.
