India confirms first off-shore wind project

India is set to build the nation’s first offshore wind power project off the coast of Gujarat state after the government signed an agreement with state-run agencies.

Developers are aiming for the project to have a 100-megawatt project and it will receive financial support from the government for environmental evaluations.

According to the Press Information Bureau transmission will also be subsidised but there is not yet a time frame for when the project will be completed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (pictured right) plans to increase the use of renewable sources to provide power to all households in the country by 2019.

The nation’s 7,600 kilometers (4,723 miles) of coastline offers means India has vast potential to develop the offshore wind industry.

The government is also preparing a National Offshore Wind Energy Policy and a note has been sent to cabinet ministers for discussion, according to an official statement.

India currently has over 22,000 megawatts of wind power generation capacity on land.

The agreement for the offshore wind project was signed between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and a consortium of NTPC Ltd, Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd., Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Power Finance Corp., PTC India Ltd. and Gujarat Power Corp., according to today’s statement.