NIWE, ORE Catapult close Joint Declaration for offshore wind

National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) announced the signing of a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) with the UK-based ORE Catapult.

Under the agreement, two wind energy organisations of India and the UK will establish a five-year collaboration programme for developing wind energy, especially offshore wind.

Currently, India has zero offshore wind installations and plans to begin by 2024-25.

According to a statement, NIWE and ORE Catapult will partner on innovation and research, development, marketing, supply chain growth, new technology test and demonstration and skills programmes for offshore wind.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) said that India would support the technical supply chain innovation analysis of the wind energy sector between the UK and India. Both the countries will work on identifying cost-effective sites for the early development of offshore wind in India.

The project will also include wind energy technology demonstration infrastructure in Tamil Nadu. The research and knowledge exchange will be carried out to tackle the challenges of deploying offshore wind. The countries will also focus on supply chain growth programmes for offshore wind power projects, focusing on installation, operations and maintenance (O&M) and balance of the plant.

The United Kingdom has been a world leader in offshore wind energy development. Wind turbines contribute over 10% of the UK’s electricity and power to over 7.5 million households. The UK has an ambitious target of increasing wind energy fourfold by 2030.

India has replaced China in agreement with Sri Lanka to build three renewable energy farms.

The India-UK 2030 roadmap emphasises cooperation and collaboration on clean energy to support India unlock its offshore wind potential to help its climate change target.

Director, Strategy and Emerging Technology of ORE Catapult, Dr Stephen Wyatt, said that the UK would bring its expertise to the Indian market in partnership with NIWE and with the support of Innovate UK, drive growth in India and the UK towards achieving net-zero emissions target.

Director-General of NIWE, Dr Balaraman, said that the potential for offshore wind is vast in India due to its 7600 km coastline. The partnership will be vital for future developments of offshore wind in India and also in the Asia Pacific region.

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