China’s Offshore Wind Power Surge – What It Means for India’s Renewable Goals
China’s offshore wind boom highlights critical technology, infrastructure and policy gaps in India’s renewable sector, leaving India lagging behind global clean energy leaders despite ambitious targets.
Global Instigation and India’s Offshore Wind intentions
China’s rise in the coastal wind sector marks a turning point in the global clean energy race, shining a limelight on gaps in India’s renewable intentions. As of July 2025, China leads with state- backed systems, massive manufacturing capabilities, and world- class engineering, symbolised by installations like the OceanX floating turbine off Guangdong. India, meanwhile, has set a target of installing 30 GW of coastal wind capacity by 2030 but faces critical faults in structure and technology. Countries like Japan, the US and numerous in Europe are floundering with fiscal hurdles and policy insecurity, yet China continues to launch ahead, dominating both construction and import requests. Indian policymakers now face mounting pressure with global rivals advancing technology and scaling systems while domestic readiness remains a challenge.
Offshore Wind The Global and Indian Context
India’s total installed wind capacity reached 52.14 GW by July 2025, ranking fourth worldwide. still, all of this is presently onshore, largely concentrated in countries like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Offshore wind is seen as a crucial occasion to address land failure, reduce grid pressure, and round the seasonal nature of solar and wind coffers. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy( MNRE) has linked Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for airman systems, with tenders launched for 4 GW in 2023. Yet, no coastal wind granges are functional. Seabed check detainments, lack of transmission evacuation strategies, and poor fiscal impulses have stalled progress. The government’s policy focus veers towards solar power, with ambitious programmes like PM- Kusum and product Linked impulses for solar modules, leaving coastal wind in a policy and investment vacuum.
Why Is India Lagging Behind?
China’s dominance in coastal wind stems from a coordinated approach — strong manufacturing base, policy support, original force chains, and aggressive import strategies. enterprises similar as Goldwind and Ming Yang Smart Energy have made China a global hustler, symbolised by the OceanX turbine. India’s original manufacturers, like Suzlon and Inox Wind, remain focused on onshore systems. Offshore wind manufacturing, element significances, and conservation( including vessels, anchorages and submarine lines) drive costs far advanced than onshore. According to request judges, operation and conservation for coastal turbines can reach ₹ 2.5 – 3 crore per MW annually. A 2023 MNRE report stressed the lack of trained pool and specialized structure, farther italicizing India’s need for capacity structure and artificial collaboration.
Implicit of Offshore Wind and Why It Matters
A bank of 7,600 km offers India strong and steady coastal wind pets, especially off Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Reports by the IEA and Ember cite that tapping indeed a small share of this eventuality can diversify the energy blend, reduce land pressure, and strengthen grid adaptability. Offshore wind’s seasonal complementarity with solar — high wind in the thunderstorm when solar dips could boost time- round stability. Floating wind granges allow siting turbines far from reinforcement, near to harborage metropolises and littoral artificial clusters demanding stable power. still, erecting the technology, grid liaison, and force chains demanded for this metamorphosis requires both policy clarity and billions in investment.
India will need an estimated$ 50 billion for energy storehouse and grid upgrades by 2030 if it's to emplace large- scale coastal wind and unlock further renewable capacity. In 2024, India launched tenders for seabed plats( 4 GW in Tamil Nadu, 500 MW in Gujarat), but prosecution lags. A lack of detailed seabed mapping, harborage structure and seductive marketable impulses mean India must urgently raise policy ambition, foster global hookups, and draw private capital. While the government has gestured intentions through Viability Gap Funding and strategic deals, perpetration remains slow.
relative Analysis Solar vs Offshore Wind
India’s policy and investment preference has shifted towards solar, now set for 280 GW capacity by 2030, making up over 55 of the renewable channel. Solar manufacturing, rooftop schemes, and distributed impulses have prodded rapid-fire growth, while wind — especially coastal has been fairly neglected. The Global Wind Energy Council estimates only 3 of Asia- Pacific coastal wind capacity between 2024 – 2033 will be in India.
What Needs To Change?
Judges endorse bold, coordinated action from policymakers accelerated seabed checks, investment in transmission, harborage upgrades, fiscal support for arising manufacturers, and indigenous collaboration to partake cost and technology burden. Without critical reform, India risks lagging in a sector critical for its decarbonisation aims, energy security, and grid adaptability.
Conclusion
India stands at a crossroads it can match the scale and speed of China’s coastal wind deployment or continue favouring solar alone, missing the chance to transfigure its clean energy geography. For India to meet its 2030 pretensions, it must invest strategically in coastal wind technology, structure, and pool, to close the gap and secure its renewable future.
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