India to build offshore wind power project

[NEW DELHI] India's federal government signed an agreement with state-run agencies to build the nation's first offshore wind power project off the coast of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state.

The 100-megawatt project will receive financial support from the government, including for studies and environmental evaluations. Power transmission will also be subsidised, the Press Information Bureau said. It didn't give a time frame for when the studies and project will be completed.

Mr Modi plans to increase the use of renewable sources to provide power to all households in the country by 2019, even as demand in Asia's second-biggest energy consumer continues to grow. The nation's 7,600 kilometres of coastline offers it the ability to develop the offshore wind industry, according to the government statement.