Between the two potential sites, wind farms at Kanyakumari are more viable compared to Rameswaram.Powerful and consistent winds and low sound pollution make offshore wind farms preferable to onshore farms, they report in the journal Current Science.More than 90 per cent of the global offshore wind farms are located in European waters, including the world's largest such, the 630 MW "London Array", which was commissioned in 2013.India's installed wind power capacity has significantly increased in recent years, reaching 32 GW at the end of March 2017. But no offshore wind farm is under implementation although an Offshore Wind Policy was announced in 2015.The NIOT initiated the study to identify suitable sites along the Indian coast . "The wind potential maps indicate Rameswaram and Kanyakumari along the Tamil Nadu Coast as suitable sites for setting up of offshore wind farms. "South India is facing huge deficit in electricity which can be compensated to some extent by offshore wind plants." "However, the cost of offshore wind energy plants will be significantly higher compared to onshore farms because of the higher cost for foundations, installation, operation and maintenance and complex logistics.

Source: Economic Times August 27, 2017 07:07 UTC