Govt plans for combined exploration of offshore oil blocks and wind farms

May 22 -- The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has initiated discussions with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) to combine the exploration of offshore hydrocarbon blocks with offshore wind farms, which will lead to improved synergies.Led by the objective of maximising the energy through the same block, this will also enable the exploration and production companies to meet their goals of diversifying their energy mix for increased output and have achieving net zero goals.It has been reiterated that several of the hydrocarbon blocks in India offer good prospects in wind generation. Meanwhile, the government is also considering to put in place viability gap funding (VGF) to make offshore wind energy projects more attractive for developers. To take this ahead, MNRE has sought approval from the Finance Ministry for the VGF model.As per MNRE, the country's first offshore wind seabed lease tender is expected to be floated within the next four to six weeks. The first phase will be located along the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, with a combined potential of about 70 GW. As a natural advanatge, Gujarat has the longest coastal length of 1,600 km, while Tamil Nadu has 1,076 km to take off these projects.