TN CM to Center: ‘Come Out with Viable Policy on Offshore Wind Energy’

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has urged the Central government to come out with a viable policy on harnessing offshore wind energy, according to media reports.

Speaking at the Southern Zonal Council meeting held in Tirupathi on Sunday, Stalin said the state has huge potential to harness offshore wind energy.

“However, we are yet to get a green signal from the Central government to go ahead with our projects. Many international organisations are keen to establish partnerships with our government,” he added. “Therefore, we request the Union government to come out with a viable policy in this regard at its earliest,” the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said.

According to him, Tamil Nadu has been a pioneer in promoting renewable energy sources which are eco-friendly and non-exhaustive. The state is blessed with hot weather, vast coastline and strong wind potential that are yet to be fully exploited to meet its energy requirement.

Tamil Nadu has signed several agreements to use this potential and maximise the returns. The state is blessed with hot weather, vast coastline and strong wind potential that are yet to be fully exploited to meet its energy requirement. Tamil Nadu has signed several agreements to use this potential and maximise the returns.

In July this year, Denmark said that it was keen on setting up a Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind and believed that Tamil Nadu was the best place for it as wind patterns are consistent there.

Following this, Danish Ambassador to India Freddy Svane met CM M.K. Stalin, Finance Minister P.T.R. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu and discussed Denmark’s relationship with the State, dating back to 400 years.

Mr. Svane was then quoted in media reports as saying that the Centre of Excellence would develop the best technology to cater to offshore wind. “There is no offshore wind facility in India for the time being, and of course you need to develop a technology that will cater to the specific conditions in India and along its coastline. Tamil Nadu can become the hub for offshore wind [energy] manufacturing,” he had said.

Consequently, in September, India and Denmark launched a knowledge hub called the Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy (CoE) — a joint initiative between the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) as the host of the CoE and the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) as support.