Second only to solar power in terms of its inherent potential in India, wind power has been a vastly underutilized renewable resource in terms of India’s growing energy needs. India, which already has 23 GW of onshore wind power capacity, is also fortunate to have a massive coastline of over 7,600 kilometers (km), creating a huge inherent potential for offshore wind development. .

As the central government actively promotes the development and use of energy from renewable sources as a viable means of achieving energy security and curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emanating from the electricity sector, harnessing the vast potential offered by wind power is high on the agenda. both from the government and from the wind power IPP.

An important milestone in India’s ongoing effort to promote renewable energy projects has been the approval given to the National Offshore EM Policy in September this year. The policy designates the Ministry of New and Renewable Energies (MNRE) as the central ministry responsible for the development of all offshore areas within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

The policy also mandates the National Wind Energy Institute as the nodal agency responsible for offshore wind energy development in the country, authorizing it to allocate offshore wind energy blocks and coordinate efforts with related ministries and agencies.

The new policy has opened up several new possibilities for wind IPP. One of the main advantages of offshore wind power is that large projects (more than 1000 MW) can now be developed with a capacity utilization factor ranging between 45 and 50%. This is also expected to enable better transmission infrastructure utilization and better dispatch capacity, with negligible impact on ground requirements.

According to CEA data, wind power has a proven track record in India with 23,762 MW of installed capacity at the end of the last fiscal year (March 31, 2015) compared to about 1,667 MW of installed capacity in 2002.

A significant portion of the capacity addition occurred in 2011-12 with 3,197 MW of capacity added in a single year. Tax breaks including measures such as accelerated depreciation and generation-based incentive (GBI) have also acted as growth drivers for the WE sector in India.

As a result of the ambitious targets set by the government, private sector investment in the WE sector is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. A fact supported by a report by Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL) stating that the W..E sector may attract INR 1 lakh crore of investment by 2020, if wind power costs continue to head south vis -à- see network rates. The agency has further outlined the possibility of adding 4 GW of capacity in the WE sector each year for the next five years.

In addition, the government has assured industry stakeholders of its intention to continue accelerated depreciation benefits and the generation-based incentive (GBI) for the wind power sector to fuel its overall growth. In addition, the proposed WE National Mission is also expected to accelerate the growth of the WE sector with more emphasis on offshore wind.

Welspun Renewables has a reputation for developing some of the world’s largest and most efficient grid-connected solar and wind power plants in India and owns one of the largest renewable energy portfolios in India.