The Centre of Excellence will build upon several joint EU-India projects that have provided key insights on the required infrastructure and supply chain for offshore wind in India.
Since 2013, the European Union (EU) have been supporting the development of India’s offshore wind development plans through several projects including the Facilitating Offshore Wind in India (FOWIND), the First Offshore Wind Project of India (FOWPI) and the EU-India Clean Energy and Climate Partnership (CECP). These are all concrete examples on this long-lasting collaboration between the EU and India.
The activities launched in both the projects have been fundamental for creating knowledge and technical advisory services in the supply chain field. Denmark has been supporting the work done by the EU in the supply chain and the activities of the Centre of Excellence will build upon the excellent work done. The main activities and studies done have been summarized below.
A supply chain, port infrastructure and logistics study for offshore wind farm development in the states of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu were published as a part of the FOWIND project in June 2016. The report identifies key component specifications, vessel requirements, installation strategies and port infrastructure required from manufacturing to installation and through to the operation and maintenance of an offshore wind farm. The report culminates with an offshore wind port readiness assessment for Gujarat and Tamil Nadu and provides an insight into project decommissioning.
The full report is available here: https://www.dnv.com/publications/fowind-supply-chain-study-69605
Under the CECP project, a study tour was organized in November 2019 for an Indian delegation focusing on ports, logistics and infrastructure required for offshore wind in India and the impacts on the local economy and job creation. The delegation visited the Maasvlakte and Eemshaven port in the Netherlands and the Esbjerg port in Denmark. The delegation from India wasa comprised of government officials from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Institute of Wind Energy, Solar Energy Corporation of India and state governments authorities both from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
A report drafted under the ‘Business Support to the EU-India Policy Dialogues’ project was released during the RE-Invest 2020 conference, organized by the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The report identifies the challenges and opportunities to India’s offshore wind industry, and highlights the developments that are needed in order to achieve the desired cost reduction and scalability in the offshore wind industry.
The paper aimed also at identifying the current gaps in a potential offshore supply chain in India and assessing how Indian and European businesses can join capabilities best tap to support the promising offshore wind sector in India. The full report is available here:
https://www.cecp-eu.in/uploads/documents/events/Supply_Chain_study_for_off-shore_wind_in_India.pdf
EU has created valuable outputs, which has been used as stepping stones in DEA’s work. For the Center of Excellence the data, knowledge and methodology from these publications has been used for a further development and strengthen the quality of Centre of Excellence outcomes in the supply chain. A socio-economic study is currently under development as a key activity for 2021 of the Centre of Excellence. The study aims at quantifying direct and indirect job creation effects associated with offshore wind in India across the full value chain.
Please follow the Centre of Excellence´s website to be updated on the newest results.