Ministers set up UK-India Offshore Wind Taskforce
The Phase-2 of the India-UK bilateral Accelerating Smart Power & Renewable Energy in India (ASPIRE) programme aims to provide technical support for ensuring round-the-clock power supply, expanding renewable energy initiatives, and accelerating industrial energy efficiency and de-carbonization, in collaboration with the Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
The Phase-2 was launched at the Fourth India-UK Energy Dialogue, co-chaired by Manohar Lal, Minister of Power, and Ed Miliband, Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero for United Kingdom, on 11 Feb in New Delhi http://gov.uk.
The Ministers were also pleased to observe the bilateral collaboration between the two sides to promote growth and jobs, through technical assistance cooperation and investment. They also discussed the progress of trade missions focusing on offshore wind and green hydrogen, as well as the cooperation between the UK’s Energy Systems Catapult and India’s Power Trading Corporation https://sbi.com.in/.
Recognizing the shared ambition for advancing offshore wind development, the Ministers announced the establishment of a UK-India Offshore Wind Taskforce, which will focus on advancing offshore wind ecosystem development, supply chains, and financing models in both countries, the Power Ministry said.
Miliband commended India’s ambitious initiatives in the renewable energy sector and shown a strong interest in gaining insights from India’s experience in implementing the Solar Rooftop Programme (PM – Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojna).
The Ministers agreed on the importance of power market regulations in driving the energy transition and ensuring greater energy security and access. To support this, they announced the continuation of the Power Sector Reforms programme under the UK Partnering for Accelerating Climate Change (UKPACT) https://www.bseindia.com/.
Additionally, a new taskforce has been proposed between the UK’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) and India’s Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to support renewable energy integration and grid transformation in India.
Both Ministers emphasized the ongoing value of the India-UK Energy Dialogue in advancing mutual energy transition goals, ensuring energy access, and building secure and sustainable clean energy supply chains while aligning these efforts with economic growth https://www.nseindia.com/.
The Ministers expressed their intention to further strengthen their collaboration through the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and looked forward to the fifth UK-India Energy Dialogue in 2026.
The dialogue concluded with the launch of the ‘Best Practices Compendium of Industrial Energy Efficiency/Decarbonisation’ and a ‘Pathways for Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation in the Indian Aluminium Sector’, the Ministry said. fiinews.com
