Government To Invite First Bid For Electroyser, Green Hydrogen Production Capacity By June
The first tranche will fund 3GW of electrolyser manufacturing capacity and 3 million metric ton of green hydrogen production
As the pace of the energy transition picks up and the government looks at alternative sources of green energy to meet its emission targets, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy plans to issue the first tender for electrolyser manufacturing and green hydrogen production capacity by next month.
"We are in mission mode and want to hit the ground running. We do not want to delay the process," Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, secretary of MNRE, told BQ Prime.
MNRE plans to set up five million metric tonne of hydrogen production capacity by 2030, Bhalla said. The ministry has approval to provide incentives worth Rs 17,500 crore to the manufacturers as well as the producers together.
"In tranche one, we can fund about three gigawatts per year of electrolyser manufacturing capacity and three million metric tonne of production capacity," Bhalla said. "We will provide the incentives for five years; that would mean we will fund 15 gigawatts of electrolyser manufacturing capacity in total."
The need for incentives will arise after three years, when the companies start manufacturing. It takes around three years to set up the electrolyser manufacturing capacity, and the production will start henceforth, Bhalla said.
Tender For 4GW Offshore Wind Capacity
The government is also looking at inviting bids for four gigawatts of offshore wind capacity for the first time in the country by July.
As issues of right-of-way and land constraints crop up, stifling the wind capacity additions. The government will invite bids for four gigawatts of offshore capacity by July, which will help add to the total renewable capacity and meet the 2030 target.
The investments in offshore wind capacity are slightly higher given the seabed terrain, but the turbines are large, around 15 gigawatts, which provide a high plant load factor compared with onshore wind turbines, according to Dinesh Jagdale, joint secretary, MNRE. Plus, wind speed is not a constraint.
"The per megawatt cost for setting up offshore capacity is around Rs 20 crore, which is more than three times that of onshore wind turbines. But the cost is expected to come down just as solar module costs came down in the last decade," Jagdale said.
The ministry is also reviewing the concerns of Indian wind turbine players about creating a level playing field in the market, as it was expected to be skewed in favour of experienced European players, Jagdale said.
