First offshore wind power project to come up in Gujarat

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Wednesday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture (JV) company for setting up a 100 MW offshore wind power project off the Gujarat coast.

The MoU was signed between MNRE, National Institute of Wind Energy and a consortium of partners consisting of NTPC, Power Grid Corp, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Power Finance Corp, Power Trading Corp and Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd.

"Considering the country's 7,600 km coast line, opportunities for scaling up offshore wind power projects are humongous," said Power and MNRE Minister Piyush Goyal, who was present on the occasion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message in the US was loud and clear that renewable energy is the way to go, Goyal said.

"It dovetails the world's concerns about climate change and it clearly enhances India's energy security," he added.

The minister also suggested building partnerships with defence, coast guard and shipping to ensure seamless and time bound approval process.

The JV will undertake a detailed feasibility study to set up the first planned demonstration off shore wind project.

It has been proposed to provide subsidy for setting up of evacuation and transmission infrastructure of the project to the mainland, an official release here said.

With more than 22 gigawatt (GW) installed capacity in onshore wind power, it is currently the fastest growing renewable energy option in the country, the statement added.