India may take two years to study and gather data on the potential for offshore wind energy, a minister said.
Preliminary studies indicate that coastal areas off Tamil Nadu and Gujarat states may have potential, Farooq Abdullah, minister of new and renewable energy, said in a written reply to questions in parliament.
The results from the studies need to be validated by setting up offshore masts to measure one to two years of wind speed data and by analyzing the seabed to see if it can provide an adequate foundation for offshore wind projects, he said.
India is planning two pilot offshore wind farms, Deepak Gupta, secretary at the ministry of new and renewable energy, said in an interview on Feb. 17.
Oil & Natural Gas Corp., India’s biggest explorer, is helping the government to analyze the data and the UN’s Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate & Sustainable Development is helping to carry out an offshore wind resources assessment in Chennai, Abdullah said.
