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CHENNAI: There are no Offshore Wind (OSW) specific policies or regulations in Tamil Nadu and no single port is ready for handling an OSW project, Rajendra V Kharul, senior advisor, Idam Infrastructure Advisory Pvt Ltd said in Chennai on Tuesday. “A certain amount of adaptation shall be required for existing ports to be used for OSW purposes. Substantial investment and time would be required to repurpose the existing ports,” he said making a presentation at a workshop on ‘Offshore Wind (OSW) Model Evacuation Framework in Tamil Nadu.’
On the sidelines of the event he said a specific policy from the state on this is the need of the hour.
The workshop was organised by UK Government funded ASPiRE (Accelerating Smart Power and Renewable Energy in India) and was supported by UK FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office) and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India.
According to him, the ecological sensitivity of the Gulf of Mannar region may constraint the OSW development. Appropriate approval and consenting framework is missing. “Onshore and Offshore wind pockets are in South of the states, while major load centres are in North of the state,” he said, adding “The feasibility of OSW power transfer capability needs to be further studied while planning for OSW in Tamil Nadu.”
Rajesh Katyal, director general, National Institute of Wind Energy(NIWE) spoke about India’s ambition for offshore wind and took this opportunity to remind the gathering about the draft tender and solicited comments and feedback on the same.
Oliver Ballhatchet, British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai said, “The government of UK is committed to supporting India’s energy transition and climate goals. The Foreign Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) has been supporting the Indian power sector at the state and central level over the last four decades.” The Government of India, through MNRE has announced its intent to create OSW capacity of 37 GW by 2030 off the coast of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat and this workshop will prove to be a stepping stone to achieve this ambitious target.
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