Assessment of offshore solar energy along the coast of India

Government of India is targeting 175 GW of solar power generation by 2022. As the land is scarce resource in India and per capita land availability is low, the selection of offshore solar power plant is commendable. The present study aims to provide preliminary estimation of offshore solar energy potential available in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of India. ERA-Interim solar radiation dataset from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) with a spatial resolution of 0.125 degrees (approximately 12.5 km) over the period of two years(January 2015 to December2016)has been analyzed and validated with measured data. Geographic Information System (GIS) environment is used to develop maps with different classes of spatial distribution of annual mean Global horizontal irradiation (GUI) and corresponding solar energy output. Results show that average mean GUI and the estimated solar power generation in study area are 5.49 kWh/m(2)per day and 9372TWh per day respectively. Further, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu regions are having higher radiation value than the other regions. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.