Offshore wind energy
Topic: Energy Resources of India: Conventional and Non-conventional · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Offshore wind energy means wind turbines built in the sea, away from the coast. Turbines turn the moving energy of wind into electricity. At sea there are no hills, trees or buildings to slow the wind. So winds there are stronger and steadier than on land, and each turbine produces more power. Offshore turbines cost more to build, so the government gives viability gap funding. This is a grant that makes a project worth building for companies.
Example
India has marked offshore wind zones off the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. It targets 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and approved viability gap funding in 2024 (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- Onshore wind energy: turbines on land. One example is the cluster from Nagercoil to Madurai in Tamil Nadu, where Muppandal gets winds funnelled through the Aralvaimozhi gap. Another is Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
- Tidal energy: also at sea, but it uses the rise and fall of tides, not wind.