India’s Suzlon Group and its associates have commissioned their first operational offshore met station in the Arabian Sea.
Suzlon said that the company ”is actively working on offshore wind energy technology and has initiated techno-commercial feasibility study .”
Suzlon and the associates, under the guidance from National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) Chennai and approvals through National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) Chennai, have installed a LiDAR-based wind measurement station south-west of Jakhau port in Kutch, Gujarat. The met station is expected to collect data for a period of two years.
The offshore wind data collection platform is installed some 16 kilometres from the shore in the territorial waters of Gujarat under the control of the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) at a water depth of about 11 metres, where the tidal range is 4 metres, the company said. The support platform is at a height of about 14 metres above water level.
The unmanned met station will be powered by solar energy and will be remotely monitored for maintenance needs. Engineers will visit the site for general inspection periodically and cater to the servicing needs in case of a breakdown, Suzlon said.
Additionally, an onshore mast of 150 metres has also been installed for the purposes of validation and correlation.
“Given India’s coastline of 7,600 kms, the country has enormous potential for offshore wind energy and it can potentially repeat the success achieved in onshore wind energy,” J.P. Chalasani, CEO of Suzlon Group, said.
”The government’s plan to auction 5 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind power capacities next year is a progressive move and will help the industry achieve the target of having 175 GW renewable energy capacity by 2022.Having pioneered the wind industry in India, it is indeed a proud moment for us to commission our first Operational Offshore Met Station. The installation of the offshore wind met station will aid in better assessment of offshore wind and will lead the way in harnessing India’s vast offshore wind energy potential.”