The Government of India has issued an invitation for bids for the development of 4 GW of offshore wind off the coast of Tamil Nadu. This is the culmination of years of preparation and drives India towards the realisation of its renewable energy ambitions.
The Request for Selection for the allocation of seabed lease rights is issued by the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) and comprises four blocks with a nominal capacity of 1 GW each awarded through an electronic bidding process, with no central financing from Government of India. Winning developers will be able to use the generated electricity for captive consumption under an open access mechanism or sell it to any entity through a bilateral power purchase agreement or through power exchanges.
The four blocks fall under Model B as described in the strategy paper for offshore wind development, numbered 2, 3, 4 and 7. The developers’ scope is for the turbines and inter-array cables. The Central Transmission Utility is to develop the offshore substation, export cable and onshore connection point.
A pre-bid meeting will be held on 4 March 2024, and final bid submissions are due by 2 May 2024. Full details, including site coordinates and lease fees, can be accessed here.
In addition, the Government of India has confirmed the provision of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for a further two 500 MW sites, with each off the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. These sites are described under Model A in the strategy paper. Full details of the funding are yet to be announced but have been mentioned as part of the interim budget announced by the Ministry of Finance.