India’s NIWE and UK’s ORE Catapult Collaborate for Offshore Wind Development

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India’s National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has announced signing of a a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) with ORE Catapult of the United Kingdom under which the two wind energy organisations of their respective countries will establish a five-year collaboration programme for the development of wind energy, particularly offshore wind. India currently has zero offshore wind installations, and plans to get started by 2024-25 are also well behind schedule.

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

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

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The programme will also include wind energy technology demonstration infrastructure in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu. Research and knowledge exchange will be done that will help tackle the unique challenges of deploying offshore wind. The two countries will also focus on supply chain growth programmes for offshore wind power projects with focus on installation, balance of plant and operations and maintenance.

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

British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, said on the Joint Declaration, “It is great to see the best minds from India and the UK collaborating on offshore wind. Our nations have a strong partnership on climate and this initiative is another step forward on the shared ambition of our Prime Ministers as set out in the 2030 Roadmap.”

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The India-UK 2030 roadmap emphasizes cooperation and collaboration on clean energy to help India unlock its offshore wind potential which will further the cause of climate protection.

Dr Stephen Wyatt, ORE Catapult Director, Strategy & Emerging Technology, informed, “The UK has world-leading experience in the development of offshore wind, and in bringing innovation to bear on lowering costs and enhancing performance.  Bringing this expertise to the Indian market in partnership with NIWE and with the support of Innovate UK will bring growth in both India and the UK, enabling massive strides in each country’s journeys to achieving net zero”.

Dr Balaraman, Director General, NIWE, said, “The potential for Offshore wind is huge in India considering the vast & contiguous coastline running 7600km, and this collaboration will be vital in the future development of offshore wind not only in India but for the Asia Pacific region as well.  We look forward to bringing together the strengths of our two organisations to accelerate progress towards clean affordable energy from offshore wind in Asia Pacific region and particularly in India.”

Dr Balaram also held that the cooperation will support the establishment of world class research and test facilities in India, eventually fostering the development of the blue economy.