India launches EIA tender for 20 MW offshore wind demo, seeks floating LiDARs for three sites

The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), part of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, has launched tenders for the supply and installation of floating LiDARs at three offshore sites, and for environmental impact assessment studies at a site proposed to house a 20 MW offshore wind demonstration project.

For the floating LiDARs, NIWE issued a call for tenders on 26 August, looking for a supplier of integrated floating buoys that include LiDARs and oceanographic sensors, which will be installed in the Gulf of Mannar, off Tamil Nadu, at three identified locations (Zone B1, Zone C1 and Zone E2).

This tender is open for applications until 26 September and the measurement campaigns will run for one year.

In a separate call, NIWE invited bids for “rapid environmental impact assessment studies” offshore Dhanushkodi on the Rameswaram Island (Pamban Island), Tamil Nadu, where the Institute is planning to set up a 16 MW-20 MW demonstration offshore wind farm.

The tender, which is open until 12 September, involves carrying out Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment Studies and preparing Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the identified site offshore Dhanushkodi.

The work is required to support obtaining necessary clearances to set up the demonstration project from all the relevant government agencies.

The offshore research facility proposed at Dhanushkodi will be a platform for the Indian renewable energy sector and a logistically viable location to study offshore wind turbine operation in the natural environment and collect enough data to give confidence for the nascent offshore market in the country, according to NIWE.

In addition, “Greening Rameswaram Island” is also being developed as part of the Government of India’s Greening the Islands initiative, NIWE says in the tender notice.

In June, India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) announced that it would open the first offshore wind tender in the next three to four months to lease blocks off the state of Tamil Nadu.

This will be the first of eight rounds planned to be held over the next eight years as the country plans to auction areas offshore the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat each year until 2030.

The areas off Tamil Nadu are said to be able to accommodate around 4 GW of offshore wind capacity.

Although slow to reach the steel-in-the-water moment, India has been working on bringing its first megawatts of offshore wind to life over the past several years, with the last few years seeing increased activity on the Government’s side.

This has also sparked interest from the industry, which is now keeping a close eye on the country’s next steps and upcoming tenders.

In May 2020, India’s NTPC and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) signed an MoU to set up a joint venture company to explore building offshore wind and other renewable energy projects both in India and overseas. The companies did not reveal any information on offshore wind projects specifically.

Earlier this year, RWE Renewables and India’s integrated power company Tata Power entered into a partnership to explore the potential for a joint development of offshore wind projects in the country.