I am asked time and again at conferences about the status of Indian offshore wind power.
The short answer is “It’s very early days, and don’t expect anything concrete to happen in terms of corporate investments at least for the next couple of years”.
That said however, it is not as if nothing at all is happening in this sector, more that nothing commercial is happening, or is likely to happen next two years.
For instance, CWET, along with Scottish Development International (SCI), the international economic development agency of Scotland, in Feb 2012 came out with a technical feasibility study on offshore wind energy potential in favourable areas in southern Peninsula and Kutch region in Gujarat.
“As there was no valid assessment map for offshore wind potential, SCI in collaboration with C-WET has conducted the feasibility study as a first step in exploiting the potential. Offshore wind projects require lot of data on wind conditions. There are about 50 wind-mapping stations along the coastline in the country. As the areas around Dhanushkodi and Kutch region in Gujarat have shown good potential, the technical feasibility study has been conducted based on the higher wind power density in these areas,” said Gomathinayagam, Director of CWET, at a press meet.
So, that’s at least some news for all those curious about offshore wind in India.
