According to the official, the G20 presidency of India provides a chance for offshore wind countries, industries, and financial institutions to collaborate on sustainable energy transition goals
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, in collaboration with the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), recently convened a high-level event "Harnessing Offshore Wind for Accelerating Energy Transition: The Way Forward" in Mumbai as part of the third Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) meeting under India's G20 Presidency. Government leaders, financial institutions, and senior domestic and foreign industry figures attended the event. The event served as a forum for the sharing of key needs for increasing offshore wind deployment in India and around the world, including permits and clearances, supply chain resilience, low-cost finance, capacity building, and increased business volumes to increase market attractiveness.
Offshore wind, according to Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), is a solution to air pollution and climate change mitigation. He emphasised the prospect for job creation provided by the growth of the offshore wind value chain. He described India's progress in harnessing offshore wind, citing its significance for grid balance. He went on to say that India's G20 presidency represents a chance for offshore wind countries, enterprises, and financial institutions to collaborate and leverage mutual capabilities to achieve national, regional, and global offshore wind and sustainable energy transition aspirations.
Alok Kumar, ETWG Chair and Secretary, Ministry of Power, emphasised offshore wind's expanding position in India's electricity mix. He described how India's offshore potential is similar to future hydro and nuclear capacity additions. Furthermore, he suggested that having an offshore wind horizon beyond 2030 emerges as an opportunity for the country, and that a mission mode approach may give even more force to the country's aspirations, leading to the development of a robust value chain and attracting more enthusiastic industry participation.
Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), provided an overview of the country's progress on various aspects of offshore wind, including proposed business models, upcoming tender plans, international collaborations, and extensive engagements between government and industry to facilitate a robust enabling environment.
Sumant Sinha, Chairman of GWEC India, discussed collaboration between government and industry, as well as partnerships between Indian and international offshore wind enterprises, power generators, and original equipment manufacturers, and the importance of multilateral development banks. He also advocated for long-term PPAs and needed infrastructure. He also mentioned supply chain resilience, such as the availability of customised equipment, ships, cables, and qualified personnel, among other things.
Rebecca Williams, Global Head of Offshore Wind, GWEC, and Chintan Shah, former Director of IREDA, hosted two high-level panel discussions. The "Role of the Global Offshore Wind Sector in Reaching Net Zero Targets" event focused on discussions about global offshore wind experience, international best practices, supply chain priorities, and industry expectations from the emerging Indian offshore wind market.
The panel discussion on "Financing and Capacity Building for Offshore" provided a detailed overview of the tools available to meet the demand for the development of an offshore wind environment. ADB, World Bank, Corio Generation, Aon, NTPC REL Limited, NIWE, ReNew, IREDA, Centre of Excellence on Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy, IEA, O2 Power, and SGRE officials were present.
Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale, Joint Secretary, MNRE, summarised the event's engaging discourse and thanked renowned speakers and esteemed participants for their passionate involvement in his concluding remarks.