RFP for 1,000 MW wind power projects by August in Gujarat

Work on the ambitious 1,000 MW wind power project planned off Gujarat's coast, the first such project in India, is set to commence as the Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected to be issued by next month, a senior Gujarat government official said.

The 1,000 MW project, to be undertaken jointly by Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and state government, is proposed to come up 12 nautical miles off Pipavav coast.

The windmills will spread over seabed of hundreds of square kilometres.

The European Union is funding and providing technical assistance in the preliminary implementation of the tentative capacity of 200 MW.

"The MNRE had invited expressions of interest, and it received response from 35 companies. Meetings about the project are slated for July 23 and 24. We expect RFP for the project to be issued by next month," Raj Gopal, principal secretary of energy & petrochemicals department, told reporters.

Raj Gopal said that offshore wind projects offer huge potential as wind availability in the seas is higher.

He said that a number of European countries such as Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark, have successfully developed such projects.

MONEY PULLING

• The 1,000 MW project, to be undertaken jointly by Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and state govt, is proposed to come up 12 nautical miles off Pipavav coast. 
   
• European Union is funding and providing technical assistance in preliminary implementation of the tentative capacity of 200 MW.