India plans to launch a dual tender for oilfields and offshore wind farms

India is moving steadily in the path of boosting the oil fields sector and offshore wind farms, as part of its efforts to enhance the supply of clean electricity, sufficient to meet the growing domestic demand.

The South Asian country relies a lot on offshore wind projects to raise the share of clean electricity in the national energy mix and achieve carbon neutrality goals.

In light of this scenario, India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has held discussions with the Ministry of Oil and Natural Gas to combine exploration at offshore oil sites with wind farms in order to get the best results in this regard, the Economic Times reported, citing informed government officials.

The two officials explained that the features of the idea are still under discussion, and that the initial discussions with the concerned parties were positive, according to information reviewed by the specialized energy platform.

Tender

“This is a good concept, and we’re trying to work on it,” said one of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The idea of ​​combining oil sites and offshore wind farms is to get the maximum amount of energy possible from the same resource or site.”

“We are working on the details of the plan,” he added.

The idea is of great interest as New Delhi prepares to launch its first seabed lease tender for an offshore wind farm soon.

During his participation in the activities of the Energy Transitions Working Group at its third session, which was hosted by the city of Mumbai on May 16 (2023), the Associate Secretary of the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Dinesh Jagdal, said that the first tender for leasing the seabed to establish an offshore wind farm is expected to be issued within The next 4-6 weeks.

India is witnessing slow growth in offshore wind projects despite its coastline, which extends in total at 7,600 km, of which the state of Gujarat alone has the lion’s share of 1,600 km, while the state of Tamil Nadu has a coastline of 1,076 km.

The first phase of offshore wind projects in India will be located along the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, with a total capacity of about 70 GW.

Moreover, the New Delhi government plans to launch seabed leasing tenders for the construction of 37 GW wind farms by the end of the decade (2030).

The governments of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have shown interest in purchasing offshore wind power at a competitive tariff of INR 4 per unit for initial projects.

(Indian rupee = 0.012 USD).

Combine the two sectors

The second government official stated that the idea of ​​combining oil fields and offshore wind farms would be very profitable for energy companies.

“While exploration and production companies are looking to increase oil and gas production, they are also diversifying their energy mix, as part of their efforts to achieve carbon neutrality goals,” the same official explained.

And he added, “We are considering how to offer companies an option to achieve both goals,” in statements seen by the specialized energy platform.

He pointed out that there are many oil sites in India that have good potential for generating wind energy.

ambitious goal

As part of its decarbonization goals, India is committed to reducing greenhouse gases – the main driver of climate change – by reaching 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable electricity capacity by the end of the decade (2030), of which about 140 GW is from wind power.

To support the growth of offshore wind, the government is also considering introducing financial aid through a tool called Feasibility Gap Financing (VGF), in order to make projects more attractive to developers.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is seeking approval from the Ministry of Finance for the said financing model.

The ultimate goal is to achieve a tariff rate of INR 4 per unit of renewable wind power, although the current cost of building these projects requires subsidies from the government.

For his part, Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said, “The first seabed lease tender for an offshore wind farm will be launched soon, and we are working on finalizing it,” in remarks included in a separate report published by the Economic Times.

“(The tender) will be one of the first steps to support the offshore wind sector in India,” Bhalla added.

He affirmed the intention of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to use all possible methods to attract investments in this vital sector in India.

India is currently looking forward to becoming a major player in the global offshore wind energy sector, as the countries of the world classify New Delhi as a technological solution to provide clean electricity at affordable prices to buyers, as it is considered a solution to the phenomenon of climate change.

In addition, India’s offshore wind sector contributes to enhancing energy security, enhancing network resilience, and creating new job opportunities in the nuclear-armed country.

Offshore wind capacity in India

According to projections from the International Energy Agency and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), India’s offshore wind capacity will reach 2,000 GW by the middle of this century (2050), enough to achieve the 1.5°C temperature target needed to limit global warming. Earth’s temperature.

More than 64 gigawatts of wind power capacity is being installed globally. During the period between 2023 and 2027, 130 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity will be added globally.

In 2020, the G20 countries accounted for 99.3% of the total global offshore wind energy capacity, and nearly all of the world’s installed ocean energy capacity.