The Government of India has issued a call for the implementation of offshore wind power projects with a total capacity of 4 GW in the coastal waters of Tamil Nadu. The call includes the offer of four independent blocks of 1 GW each, under the open access regime.
These blocks will be awarded through an international bidding process, allowing developers to establish offshore wind power generation facilities and offshore wind energy and directly market the electricity to consumers. This initiative is part of the efforts of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
“No viability gap funding (VGF) is granted under the open access tenders, and the renewable energy generated will be sold to entities such as industries that are currently in the high tariff band,” MNRE said.
About the offshore wind energy tender
Bids for offshore wind power development in India have been solicited through the Solar Energy Corporation of India. Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a government entity linked to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The pre-bid meeting is scheduled for March 4 and the final deadline for submission of bids is May 2.
This announcement follows a previous communication from MNRE in September 2023, where the government expressed plans to issue a call for seven locations off the Tamil Nadu region, covering an area of 1,443 km2 with capacity for more than 7 GW. With four areas already announced, the remaining three are expected to be available for bid by 2025.
Simultaneously, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the Government of India intends to offer Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for the initial 1 GW of offshore wind power capacity. This announcement was made as part of the country’s interim budget, but no additional details about the plan were provided in the budget.
It is worth noting that in August 2023, the MNRE presented a new strategy that describes the areas to be awarded and proposes auction models to allocate sites for the development and construction of offshore wind energy projects.
The areas and sites identified by MNRE and the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) are estimated to have the potential to host approximately 14 GW of installed offshore wind capacity and another 22 GW is estimated to be available to be tapped through unsolicited lease applications.
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