India Invites Bids for 4 GW Offshore Wind Projects in Tamil Nadu

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) The government on Friday said it has invited bids for the development of wind energy projects of 4 GW off the coast of Tamil Nadu.

The bids invited are for four blocks of 1 GW each on an open access basis, for the development of offshore wind power projects through international competitive bidding, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said in a statement.

"The government invites bids for development of 4 GW Off-shore Wind Energy Projects off the coast of Tamil Nadu," it said.

Under this arrangement, the developers who win the bid for each block will set up 1 GW of offshore wind energy capacity and sell electricity directly to consumers under the open access regime.

No Viability Gap Funding (VGF) is given under the open access bids, the ministry clarified and said the renewable energy generated will be sold to entities such as industries which are currently in the high-tariff band.

The ministry said there are many advantages of offshore wind turbines such as doing away with constraints of availability of land, and a higher capacity utilization function (CUF).

Further, the efficiencies of offshore wind turbines are higher than those of on-shore wind turbines.

The offshore wind energy bids have been invited through Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The bids are being called after obtaining all necessary environmental clearances.