India launches 500-MW offshore wind tender off Gujarat's coast

Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) on Friday launched a tender for a 500-MW offshore wind project off the coast of the western Indian state of Gujarat.

SECI, an entity under India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), will enter into a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the successful bidder, which will build, own and operate the wind farm. Bids will be due in December, with a pre bid meeting planned for October 22.

The project selected in SECI’s opening offshore wind tender will be eligible for Viability Gap Funding (VGF).

The tender issuance was preceded by the publication by MNRE last week of guidelines for the implementation of a VGF scheme for offshore wind energy projects. The scheme is intended to support 1 GW of offshore wind capacity, 500 MW each off the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. It has an overall budget of INR 68.53 billion (USD 817m/EUR 734m).

(INR 1 = USD 0.012/EUR 0.011)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!