New agency to drive India offshore wind energy

A National Offshore Wind Energy Authority (NOWA) under the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) will be constituted that will be the nodal agency for offshore wind projects in the country.

NOWA will carry out resource assessment and surveys in the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the country and simultaneously enter into contract with project developers for development of offshore wind energy project in the territorial water, a statement from the press information bureau (PIB) said. NOWA will be the single window agency and will coordinate with concerned ministries/departments for necessary clearances. However, NOWA will only act as a facilitator for getting clearance and application for clearance will be dealt in entirety by the concerned ministry/department, the PIB statement said.

India’s onshore wind energy deployment has crossed 19600 MW attracting $16.5 billion of investment in 2012 and it is estimated that by 2030 installed capacity could reach 191 GW, said Ratan P Watal, secretary, MNRE. In order to facilitate the flow of renewable energy into the national grid, the Government plans to roll out a Rs 43,000-crore ‘green energy corridor’ project. The project will be implemented with the assistance of Germany which has promised to provide developmental and technical assistance of one billion euro as soft credit, he added.

The ministries/departments which will be involved in the process of granting clearances for offshore wind farm projects are ministry of defence, ministry of civil aviation, ministry of home affairs, ministry of earth sciences, coast guard, the PIB statement said.

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