The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has extended the deadline for the submission of Expression of Interest (EoI) for 1 GW of offshore wind projects which are to be developed off the cost of Gujarat.

The NIWE is an autonomous research and development (R&D) body formed under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

In April 2018, Mercom had reported on NIWE’s invitation of EoIs for the development of country’s first offshore wind energy project. The institute had decided May 25, 2018 to be the deadline which has now been extended to June 8, 2018.

Moreover, the NIWE has also relaxed certain eligibility criteria for the interested project developers. In a corrigendum issued by the NIWE, it was stated that global entities having experience of installing offshore wind projects of more than 250 MW will now be eligible for the projects. Previously, it had specified that only those global entities which have experience of installing offshore wind projects of more than 500 MW will be eligible.

The corrigendum further noted that the final selection of developer of the first offshore wind project will be done through competitive bidding. But now the shortlisted parties will be consulted for preparation of bidding documents. Earlier, the coordinates were given for setting up the offshore wind capacities. Now, NIWE has clarified that the project site may not be restricted to the coordinates which were proposed by it earlier.

The interested bidder may select any location within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) within the country, which will then be subject to clearance from the concerned departments as per the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy.

According to government data, as of March 31, 2018, cumulative wind installations in India stood at approximately 34 GW.

The introduction of reverse auctions in India’s wind energy sector is proving to be a much-needed catalyst for growth. Earlier, only private developers were developing projects to sell power, but now states are actively tendering wind projects to meet renewable purchase obligations (RPO) and generate clean, green power. With the advent of reverse auctions, wind farms are now being developed in coordination with state governments and other implementing agencies.

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