Indian Oil to Develop 100-Megawatt Wind Power Capacity, Seeks Consultancy

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--In a bid to further diversify its business in the renewable energy sector, India's state-owned oil-major, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) (New Delhi), has proposed setting up another 100 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity in phases in Indian states that have wind power potential. The company currently has operational wind power capacity of 69.3 MW, comprising a 21-MW windfarm in the Kutch district of Gujarat and the 48.3-MW Vajrakarur windfarm in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.

The 21-MW Kutch windfarm, IOCL's maiden wind power project, was developed at a cost of $30 million. The windfarm, commissioned in January 2009, consists of 14 wind turbine generators with rated capacities of 1.5 MW each, while the Vajrakarur windfarm has 23 wind turbine generators of 2.1 MW each and has been in operation since May 2012.

According to IOCL sources, the company now intends to develop windfarms with minimum ratings of 25 MW each, totaling to approximately 100 MW of capacity, in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, on a lump sum turn-key (LSTK) basis through qualified selected bidders.

The company has floated a tender for hiring consultancy services to implement these projects. "IOCL intends to appoint consultants to assist the company in the tendering process for identifying parties for setting up windfarms and for post-award activities like monitoring," said an IOCL-statement.

As per the pre-conditions laid down by IOCL, the prospective consultancy-firm should have worked as a project management consultant from construction till commissioning on at least one windfarm with a minimum capacity of 25 MW, under a single work-order in the preceding three financial years. The bidder should have the experience of preparation of bid documents and must have successfully performed techno-commercial evaluation and financial evaluation, along with energy yield assessment for at least one windfarm of the same capacity.

Indian Oil is India's flagship national oil company, with business interests encompassing the entire hydrocarbon value chain--from refining, pipeline transportation and marketing of petroleum products, to the exploration and production of crude oil and gas and the marketing of natural gas and petrochemicals. Indian Oil has also forayed into alternative energy options, such as wind, solar, biofuels and nuclear power.

The development of wind power capacity is strategic to the company, as it needs to meet at least 10% of its power requirements from renewable energy sources. Notably, India's National Action Plan on Climate Change mandates a Renewable (power) Purchase Obligation (RPO) for all large industries. Under the initiative, large, power-consuming industries and distribution companies are required to source 10% of their power from renewable power. The RPO increases 10% each year for the next 10 years. Non-compliance to the RPO results in a financial penalty.

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