India and Norway to join efforts in renewable energy questions

The Norwegian Minister for Environment and International Cooperation, Mr. Erik Solheim called on the Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Farooq Abdullah in New Delhi. Both the Ministers were accompanied by high level delegations. During the talks Dr. Abdullah said that the Indian Government is taking active interest in setting up the proposed fund in collaboration with DFID, UK and Norway for promoting off-grid solutions in the field of renewable energy. Highlighting the achievements made by India in the area of solar and wind energy Dr. Abdullah said that the renewable energy can substantially reduce consumption of kerosene and diesel. The Indian side expressed interest in collaborating with Norway in the field of off-shore wind energy. Statoil the Norwegian flagship company is known for the Hywind – the world’s first full-scale floating wind turbine project. The Hywind concept combines known technologies in a completely new setting and opens up the possibility for capturing wind energy in deep-water environments. Since 2009 Statoil is testing the wind farms in order to gain further data for optimising the next generation of Hywind and make it cost competitive.