Paving the Way for Asia’s Energy Transition by Tamil Nadu

When: Wednesday, 26 April 2023, 13:30 - 14:15
Where: Markets Stage

Session description

Welcome Note - H.E. Ms. Pooja Kapur, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Denmark
Address - Mr. Bhupinder Singh Bhalla (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable (MNRE), Government of India
Keynote - H.E. Mr. Thangam Thennarasu, Hon’ble Minister Department of Industries, Investment Promotion & Commerce, Government of Tamil Nadu
Presentation - Mr S Krishnan (IAS), Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Industries, Investment Promotion & Commerce, Government of Tamil Nadu

Panel Discussion
Moderator: Mr Martand Shardul, Policy Director, GWEC India

Panelists:
- Mr S Krishnan (IAS), Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Industries, Investment Promotion & Commerce, Government of Tamil Nadu
- Mr Kane Xu, Managing Director of Envision India and Global Vice President of Envision
- Mr Balram Mehta, Group President – ReNew Services Business & Member of Management Board at ReNew Power and Co-chair India Offshore Wind Working Group at GWEC

Signing of MoU between Guidance Tamil Nadu, Government of Tamil Nadu and GWEC

Vote of thanks: Mr. Eske Bo Rosenberg, Consul General, Head of Trade & Innovation, Danish Embassy in India

With key national policies targeting low-carbon growth in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, projected investments in renewables are projected to reach around USD 2 trillion by 2030[1]. The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is a hub for global manufacturing and is projected to witness over twofold growth in power demand by the mid-century and is poised well to capitalise on this favourable investment climate for clean energy generation and manufacturing. India’s push to generate a cumulative 50% of its power needs from renewables, will be supported through significant capacity from solar and wind sources (as per the National Electricity Plan the estimated wind energy capacity (onshore & offshore) to be installed by 2031-32 is around 134GW, 3x the current figures).
The Indian state of Tamil Nadu is the second wealthiest state by GDP in India (USD 275 billion, 2022) and the most industrialized state in the country with more than 50% of its installed power generation capacity in renewables. Tamil Nadu is also the world’s hub for wind manufacturing and has over three decades of experience in the area of wind energy with 10GW of installed onshore wind capacity and has a technical potential of almost 100 GW of wind power (both onshore and offshore wind). Tamil Nadu is also the hub for Electric Vehicle manufacturing and the future hub of Green Hydrogen production in India, placing it among one of the few global manufacturing destinations with a diversified green goods portfolio.
The state has successfully leveraged its well-endowed ports to export wind equipment and components worldwide and is the only state in India with 4 major ports. Both Indian and international wind companies continue to find the state’s progressive policies and facilitative institutional mechanisms supportive of their enterprise goals. Guidance Tamil Nadu, the nodal investment promotion and trade facilitation agency of the Government of Tamil Nadu has set benchmarks by attracting investment of over USD 5.6 billion[3] since its inception from leading companies across sectors including wind OEMs such as Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, GE, Nordex, WEG and component manufacturers like Baettr, TPI composites, as well as micro-small and medium enterprises such as Lind Jensen Machinery (LJM). Tamil Nadu is also an Information Technology & Engineering Services powerhouse and is home to both domestic and international players like TCS, Cognizant, Accenture, Hexaware, Zoho, Freshdesk, HCL, Wipro, Capegemini, Qualcomm, Amazon, Zoom, Mitsogo, Caterpillar, COWI, NKT, Ericsson, Walmart, ABB, GE, Rolls Royce (aero engines) among others.
To lead the green transition from the front Tamil Nadu in 2022 launched the Green Mission for the State, the first such sub-national mission in India, with its dedicated Green National Company to support via international collaborations and financing low-carbon growth. The Industries ecosystem in Tamil Nadu has been a pioneer in its efforts towards mandating green standards and is developing an ESG framework to improve its industrial standards towards green manufacturing in the State.
GWEC’s Global Wind Report 2023 projects over 350 GW of onshore wind and 135 GW of offshore wind new installations in the APAC region alone between 2022 and 2027. Beyond this, in other regions such as Europe and the US, wind installations are expected to continue to grow. India has already announced attractive offshore wind tender volumes, which off-coast Tamil Nadu has the site for future offshore installations, and the Government of Sri Lanka is also exploring avenues for tapping its offshore wind potential. Ample offshore potential presents a case for investment in offshore wind manufacturing.
The GWEC Market Intelligence has projected a likelihood of a global shortage of blades, nacelle assembly, and generators beyond 2026 and has recommended an early infusion of investments. For onshore, as the wind turbine generator (WTG) size increases, challenges in supply chain availability are likely from 2026 onwards, particularly in pockets outside APAC. Tamil Nadu is well-poised to work with the wind industry to address any existing and/or emerging supply chain constraints in this decade by advancing the set-up of large, medium and small manufacturing units. The Government of Tamil Nadu is proactively supporting global trade through exports.