Offshore Wind Could Boost Indo-Norwegian Business Ties

Offshore wind energy could be an area of great interest for further Indo-Norwegian partnerships in business and research, as Norwegian companies can contribute to India’s offshore wind sector with their expertise and technological know-how necessary to create cost-effective projects, according to the Norwegian Embassy in India.

Recognized globally as a cost-effective and proven renewable energy technology, wind energy is gathering momentum in order to meet increasing electricity demands in a sustainable manner. The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently issued a new policy to support the development of offshore wind energy, welcoming foreign investors and expertise to help the sector grow, a sector well known to Norwegian power companies.

India is blessed with natural conditions advantageous to offshore wind, such as a long coastline and favourable wind speed and water depth. But exploitation of offshore wind energy is yet to reach a comparable scale with the onshore wind energy utilization, according to Avanish Verma, an advisor with Innovation Norway in New Delhi.

The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a National Offshore Wind Energy Policy with a vision to replicating the success of onshore wind. The policy document includes plans of setting up offshore wind power projects, research and development activities and the financial incentives that will be available.

The focus on wind energy is in line with the Indian National Action Plan on Climate Change and could also help the country achieve its nationally-installed wind capacity target of 60GW by 2022. The government’s policy plan also suggests using other sources of power such as biomass, hydro or thermal power to lower the cost and emissions.

“The policy has generated huge interest among Indian and international players alike,” said Verma.

”India still has limited experience with offshore wind energy and the sector may witness entry of international players with technical expertise to bid individually for projects or in collaboration with Indian companies.”

Norway has witnessed an increased focus on offshore wind energy as it was identified by the Norwegian Research Council as a prioritized area within the energy sector. Major research programs on offshore wind were launched in 2009 with the creation of two research centres. About 100 Norwegian companies are already involved in offshore wind and 20 are dedicated to it.