The FOWIND Consortium is pleased to announce the successful commissioning of India's first offshore LiDAR, off the coast of Gujarat, in the Gulf of Khambhat.
The data from this offshore LiDAR will support India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's efforts towards exploring the full potential of offshore wind along India's long coastline. India's National Institute of Wind Energy developed the offshore platform on which the FOWIND LiDAR has been commissioned. This activity is another significant contribution by the GWEC led FOWIND consortium towards ensuring that the offshore wind sector in India is supported by strong underlying technical data. This offshore LiDAR is a Leosphere WINDCUBE v2 procured by FOWIND from MeteoPole.
India has the world's 4th largest onshore wind market with a total installed capacity of close to 33 GW. However, India 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 in India due to the large wind resources available near centers of high-energy demand. Globally, offshore wind power is becoming increasingly cost-effective with installations close to 14.5 GW at the end of 2016.
"This is an important first step on the long road to establishing a vibrant and cost-effective offshore wind industry in India," said Steve Sawyer, GWEC Secretary General. "I believe offshore wind will play an important role in India's clean energy future."
"Providing the industry with preliminary measurement data to get a better understanding of the resource helps a great deal to make the stakeholders more comfortable since they can better estimate the risks involved," said Mathias Steck, Executive Vice President & Regional Manager Asia Pacific, DNV GL - Energy. "This will accelerate how offshore-wind in India will develop".
"This commissioning of LiDAR to measure the offshore wind resource will start a new era for India's offshore journey and will prove a big jump towards exploring the offshore wind MWs. This will be the first systematic step towards measurement campaign," said Balram Mehta, President (Wind & Asset Management) at ReNew Power.
The four-year FOWIND project aims to put together a roadmap for developing a sustainable and commercially viable offshore wind industry in India. Upcoming offshore wind feasibility assessments by FOWIND, would further add to the knowledge of businesses and government institutions as to what is required for developing a successful offshore wind industry in India. The FOWIND consortium aims to complete the preliminary roadmap for offshore wind development in India in early 2018.
About FOWIND
The consortium led by Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) is implementing the Facilitating Offshore Wind in India (FOWIND) project. The consortium partners include the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), DNV GL, the Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) and the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE). National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) joined the consortium as knowledge partner on 15 June 2015. FOWIND is and EU funded project with an overall objective to prepare a roadmap for offshore wind development in India.
Acknowledgement:
The FOWIND project is supported by a grant contribution through the European Union's Indo-European Cooperation on Renewable Energy programme and grant contributions from the GPCL and RENEW Power. The project is being executed in close cooperation with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the Government of Gujarat and the National Institute for Wind Energy (NIWE), to look closely at the challenges and opportunities presented by offshore wind in India.
About the project partners
The project partners bring a wealth of experience to the project. We are pleased to have the support and participation of the Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) and India's National Institute for Wind Energy (NIWE) and ReNew Power.
Global Wind Energy Council is the international trade association for the wind power industry. The members of GWEC represent over 1,500 companies, organisations and institutions in more than 90 countries, including manufacturers, developers, component suppliers, research institutes, national wind and renewables associations, electricity providers, finance and insurance companies. www.gwec.net
DNV GL now forms the world's largest ship and offshore classification society, and a leading expert for the energy value chain including renewables and energy efficiency. It has also taken a position as one of the top three-certification bodies in the world. Operating in more than 100 countries, its 16,000 professionals are dedicated to helping customers make the world safer, smarter and greener. www.dnvgl.com
Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (Co-funder) has been playing the role of developer and catalyzer in the energy sector in the state of Gujarat. GPCL is increasing its involvement in power projects in renewable sector, as the State of Gujarat is concerned about the issues of pollution and global warming. Gujarat has over 3GW of installed onshore wind capacity currently. www.gpcl.gujarat.gov.in
Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy is a multi-disciplinary policy research organisation working in the areas of Energy, Infrastructure, Materials, Climate Adaptation and Security Studies. www.cstep.in
World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE) is a not-for-profit institute committed to the cause of promoting sustainable energy and sustainable development in India. www.wisein.org
ReNew Power Ventures Private Limited (Industry Partner) joined FOWIND as an industry partner. ReNew Power is a leading clean energy IPP with more than 3 GW of commissioned and under-construction clean energy assets, and a pipeline of close to 1.8 GW wind, solar and distributed solar projects in India. www.renewpower.in
National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) (Knowledge Partner) will support FOWIND efforts towards offshore wind feasibility assessments for potential offshore wind project development in the states of Gujarat & Tamil Nadu - with a special focus on wind resource validation. NIWE is an autonomous R&D institution under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, established to serve as a technical focal point for orderly development of Wind Power deployment in India. www.niwe.res.in
Contact:
Lauha Fried
Communications Director
GWEC lauha.fried@gwec.net
Sinead Murray
Regional Communications Manager
APAC DNV GL - Energy
sinead.murray@dnvgl.com
