India, UK Launch Offshore Wind Taskforce — Here’s Why

India and the United Kingdom (UK) launched the India-UK Offshore Wind Taskforce for the development of offshore wind energy in India.

According to Mint, the task force will comprise of representatives from India and the UK, and a representative from Denmark.

"The United Kingdom has demonstrated global leadership in scaling offshore wind, from early-stage deployment to large commercial markets with mature supply chains. India brings scale, long-term demand and a rapidly growing clean energy ecosystem," Mint reported the minister as saying at the launch event.

Through time-bound, execution-focused collaboration, the Taskforce seeks to accelerate strategic clean energy cooperation. The Taskforce was established under Vision 2035 and the Fourth India-UK Energy Dialogue with the goal of coordinating and providing strategic leadership for India's emerging offshore wind industry. The minister pointed out that India offers scale, long-term demand, and a rapidly growing clean energy market, while the UK contributes expertise in developing mature supply chains and scaling offshore wind.

Joshi listed three key areas of collaboration: supply chains and infrastructure, including port modernisation, local production and specialised vessels; financing and risk mitigation through blended finance and long-term institutional capital mobilisation; and ecosystem planning and market design, including seabed leasing frameworks and revenue-certainty mechanisms.

According to DownToEarth, Joshi said offshore wind could emerge as a key component of India's energy transition in the future, adding that the next phase must prioritise industrial depth, grid stability and dependability. The report noted that the National Institute of Wind Energy has already conducted grid planning and studies for initial projects in promising zones off the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

Advancing Energy Transition

India has a sizable offshore wind potential that could support a diverse renewable mix and increase future energy capacity with estimates of about 36 GW off Gujarat and 35 GW off Tamil Nadu. Large-scale development models and policy support for offshore wind projects are part of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's strategy. When compared to onshore installations, offshore turbines can provide higher and more consistent wind speeds, improving the reliability of generation. Such growth can lessen reliance on land-intensive wind farms and contribute to the larger effort to increase clean power capacity, all of which are in line with India's renewable goals.

According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), offshore wind energy is expected to be one of the primary drivers for achieving net zero targets. Offshore wind allows for much higher capacity turbines than their onshore counterparts. This can fast-track India’s progress towards its target of 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. Offshore wind also has a higher Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF) compared to other renewable energy technologies, enabling cleaner electricity production and a faster green energy transition.   By the end of 2023, offshore installations worldwide had reached a total capacity of 75.2 GW. India currently ranks 4th in onshore wind installed capacity, following China, the USA and Germany.