Abstract
India is striving hard to develop new and renewable energy resources on a vast scale, to meet its future energy demands. To fulfill the need of renewable energy resources, utilization of wind energy is a good option to avoid several issues of pollution and climate change caused by the consumption of fossil fuels. The present study aims to provide a summary of offshore wind energy potential available in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of India, by utilizing reanalysis wind dataset (ERA-Interim) for 14 years (2001–2014) along with corresponding data of bathymetry and cumulative human impact on marine ecosystem. Geographic Information System (GIS) environment is used to develop maps of wind speed and power density at a hub height of 80 m. Annual energy production (AEP) capacity in Indian EEZ was observed to be about ten and six times of the present (Financial year 2015–16) and anticipated future (Financial year 2021–22) energy demand while considering 5 MW turbine. Outcomes of the present study seem to be useful for developers, planners and decision makers in realizing about available offshore wind power potential at the coasts of India.