Context
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued tender for construction of India’s First Offshore Wind Projects in Tamil Nadu.
- MNRE has appointed National Institute of Wind Energy as the nodal agency for conducting the bidding.
Key Points
- India’s vast coastline has the potential to generate approximately 140 Gigawatt of electricity from offshore wind.
- MNRE has set a target of 30 GW offshore wind installations by 2030.
- Offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity from the wind blowing across the sea.
- Benefits – Offshore wind turbines are more efficient, more land for projects and lack of physical interference etc.
Status of wind energy in India
- Installed wind energy generation capacity – 43.7 GW (as of June 2023)
- Major wind energy producing States – Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
- Rajasthan – Highest wind capacity addition
- Gujarat – Highest wind capacity addition through open access
- Tamil Nadu – Repowering of wind turbines
Renewable energy sector in India
- India is 4th globally for total renewable power capacity additions.
- As of July 2023, Renewable energy sources, including large hydropower, have a combined installed capacity of 179.322 GW.
- Installed capacity for Renewables: Solar Power (67.07 GW) > Large Hydro (46.85 GW) > Wind power (42.8 GW) > Biomass/Co-generation (10.2 GW) > Small Hydro Power (4.94 GW) > Waste To Energy (0.55 GW)
Initiatives related to Wind Energy
- National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy: To provide a framework for the promotion of large grid connected wind-solar PV hybrid systems for optimal and efficient utilization of wind and solar resources, transmission infrastructure and land.
- National Offshore Wind Energy Policy: To develop offshore wind energy in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) along the Indian coastline of 7600 km.
- Global Collaborations on Facilitating Offshore Wind Energy in India (FOWIND) with European Union.
Read more: Disentangling the 2030 global renewable energy target
Source: Economic Times
Previous Year Question
In the context of which one of the following are the terms ‘pyrolysis and plasma gasification’ mentioned?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2019 Prelims]
(a) Extraction of rare earth elements
(b) Natural gas extraction technologies
(c) Hydrogen fuel-based automobiles
(d) Waste-to-energy technologies
Answer: (d)
