India: Tamil Nadu Focuses on Offshore Wind Development

Indian state of Tamil Nadu is waiting for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to release guidelines for an early action plan to develop the offshore wind sector, according to Deccan Chronicle news site.

Chairman of Tamil Nadu Energy Development Authority, Mr. Sudeep Jain, said that the Ministry has established a committee to see into exploitation of offshore wind energy.

The state’s issues that wind energy developers could face are related to technology, finance, regulation and those of social kind. Regarding that, the Indian Wind Power Association recently asked for a common wind energy policy in all the states, as well as incentives from the state and funds from the Centre’s Clean Energy Fund to overcome its financial crisis.

The offshore wind development will be a great advance to Tamil Nadu, which now holds 36% of India’s renewable energy installation and is capable to produce 8,000MW of electricity through wind power.

[mappress]

Offshore WIND staff, July 27, 2012; Image: GE