India is expected to overtake China as the world's most populous country within the decade and reach 1,5 billion people by 2030, according to a UN report from 2019.

Coupled with expected economic growth and generally increasing living standards, this calls for enormous amounts of electricity – preferably green, as most electricity currently comes from coal, and air pollution is a major issue in India.

Unrealistic target of 30GW offshore wind by 2030…

India is on a mission to ensure that the electricity needs of the future are met with mostly renewable energy, having set a very ambitious target of 450GW renewables by 2030, including 30GW of offshore wind.

While the 30GW-target signals a strong commitment to offshore wind, it is unrealistic as not a single project is in process yet due to lagging policy action.

Despite numerous positive policy signals and the recent announcement of a Center of Excellence for Offshore Wind in collaboration with the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities, no auctions have yet been held.

…but offshore wind in India will come

The process may be slow and hard to predict, but the need for offshore wind is large, and the policy signals have been strong. India needs so much renewable energy, that if even a smaller part of the demand is met with offshore wind, it would be a sizeable market for offshore wind.

India is therefore likely to become become a major offshore wind market, and the industry seems to agree: The country's first call for expressions of interest in 2018 attracted bids from no less than 35 developers and consortiums, including many international parties.

Aegir Insights takes a look at this large, emerging market in our newest market report on India, available to our subscribers.

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