NIWE Floats RFS for 4 GW of Offshore Wind Projects Off Tamil Nadu Coast

The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has invited the request for the selection of a 4000 MW / 4 GW of offshore wind power project off the coast of Tamil Nadu through International Competitive Bidding.

With this, the long awaited offshore wind segment finally moves ahead in India, although the target of 5 GW by 2025 still looks improbable. But 25 GW by 2030 should be worth attempting, even with this late start. Offshore wind has, for long been relegated  to the backburner in India owing to high costs and technical challenges. However, both have seen significant improvement in the past decade, leading to a surge in installations across the world, especially China, Europe and the US, in that order.

As per the tender document, grid connectivity and long-term open access/access to the grid under the general network access (GNA) framework to the grid shall be in the scope of the offshore wind power developer (OWPD). The energy generated from offshore wind power projects is to be consumed in captive mode or sold to a third party under open access framework or sold through merchant sale/power exchange. 

This NIWE 4000 MW wind energy power plant tender includes the scope of the work of setting up the wind plant of awarded capacity, including design & engineering, manufacture/procurement, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning including warranty obligation with comprehensive operation and maintenance. 

Each interested bidder will have to pay Rs. 5,90,000 (including 18% GST) as a cost of the tender document, which is non-refundable. The awarded bidder must pay Rs. 100,00,000 per project as an earnest money deposit. 

 The Technical Eligibility will be based on the track record of offshore wind farm development that includes experience in the offshore project from survey to decommissioning, which also includes development and management plans. 

The successful bidder must have a minimum annual turnover of Rs. 1000 crores during the previous financial year i.e., FY 2021-22, or as on the date at least 7 days before the due date of bid submission.

The interested bidder must fulfill the minimum financial requirement of an average annual net worth to the tune of Rs. 2500 crores during the last 3 financial years.

Bidders can view/download this NIWE 4 GW of Offshore wind power project tender documents and technical specifications here.

Recently, The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) floated a tender for the supply, installation, and commissioning of an integrated floating buoy for mounting offshore light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors as well as meteorological and oceanographic sensors at three locations in the Gulf of Mannar off the coast of Tamil Nadu.