Highlights :

• In 2008, India signed an MoU with Denmark for cooperation on developing renewable energy technologies.
• In 2019, a strategic RE sector cooperation agreement a focus on offshore wind energy was signed.
• In 2021, the two countries launched the ‘Centre of Excellence on Offshore Wind’ as part of their Green Strategic Partnership to boost offshore wind industry.

In a written reply to a question, Union Power Minister R K Singh submitted information on the green partnership agreement between India and Denmark in the Lok Sabha yesterday (December 2, 2021), Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) revealed in an official statement.

The minister revealed that on February 6, 2008, the Government of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Denmark for cooperation on New and Renewable Energy (NRE) between Danish and Indian entities with the aim of developing NRE technologies.

Under the framework of this MoU, a strategic sector cooperation agreement in the field of renewable energy with a focus on offshore wind energy was signed on March 6, 2019, between MNRE, the Government of India, and The Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate, the Kingdom of Denmark.

The Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind gave the following main objectives of the cooperation agreement, as revealed by Mr. Singh, in its official statement:

• Building the technical capacity for the management of offshore wind projects.
• Take measures to develop and sustain a highly efficient wind industry, onshore as well as offshore.
• Take measures to ensure high quality of wind turbines, components, and certification requirements.
• Forecasting and scheduling of offshore wind.
• Any other area as may be mutually agreed upon.

In September, MNRE informed that the two countries launched the ‘Centre of Excellence on Offshore Wind’ as part of their Green Strategic Partnership to boost offshore wind power generation among other renewable sources. The centre is focused around four working groups:

• spatial planning
• financial framework conditions
• supply chain infrastructure
• standards and testing

In the medium- and long-term, the ‘Centre of Excellence on Offshore Wind’ aims to broaden its scope to include a wider group of international governments and players so as to accumulate experience and useful practices on offshore wind.