ANERT Seeks Floating Offshore Wind For Kerala

Kerala is on the spree to find offshore wind energy possibilities in the state to step up the renewable energy expansion. In a key development the, state’s Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT) has signed an agreement with the Norwegian renewable energy firm World Wide Wind for exploring options to find possibilities for offshore wind energy by employing floating turbines.

As per reports, the agreement was signed through the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). ANERT gathers and disseminates knowledge about renewable energy in Kerala.

The two parties have tentatively proposed a pilot project in Kerala in which one or two floating wind energy turbines are to demonstrate the capability. The site for the pilot wind energy project development is near the coast of Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram.

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Narendra Nath Veluri, Chief Executive Officer, ANERT informed that the pilot wind project in Kerala will be around 400 KW capacity. He also said that it will be close to the shores to allow easy evacuation of green energy that will be generated.

World Wide Wind develops an integrated turbine specifically designed for offshore floating wind power, with two counter-rotating turbines and tilted mast in concert with wind and elements. This is different from the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT).

Narendra Nath Veluri further said, ‘‘The details, including cost and other factors, have to be worked out and we will be holding follow-up discussions. The Norwegian firm must also identify an Indian partner.”

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Kerala wants to have 100% renewable energy in the state energy basket by 2040. It also wants to be carbon neutral by the middle of this century. The southern state doesn’t have any offshore wind facility as of now.

Currently, Kerala has a mere 70.28 MW or 2.23% of its power coming from wind sources. The total installed renewable energy capacity stands at 3145 MW. Recently, public-private partnership firm, INKEL Ltd. floated a tender for the supply of a 14 MW capacity wind energy plant in Palakkad district of Kerala.

In June, 2022, a hybrid solar and wind energy project that was developed by ANERT was inaugurated as the first of this kind in Wayanad, Kerala.