“I wish that a successful offshore wind tender in India happens, hopefully with international developers, as this will showcase the confidence in the Indian market and will lead to many more developers paying attention to India, which I believe is a great opportunity for them under the right conditions,” says Jesper Badea Jensen.
Jensen is an energy and infrastructure professional with more than eight years of experience in offshore wind, renewable energy and project economics. As head of secretariat at the Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy in India, he supports the development of the offshore wind sector through collaboration with government authorities, industry stakeholders and international partners. Previously, Jensen served as special adviser at the Danish Energy Agency, where he contributed to major offshore wind initiatives, including Denmark’s Energy Island projects and tender frameworks. Earlier roles in financial analysis and sales operations provided him a strong foundation in financial modelling, business processes and strategic decision-making.
“The most exciting part of my new role is being part of implementing renewable energy where it really matters. Denmark accounts for a very small amount of the global CO2, so any changes there are minuscule compared to changes in India. I also enjoy complex problems, so it motivates me to establish offshore wind in India. I also get to meet so many smart and helpful people in India. They are willing to teach me about how the power system in India works, and they are interested in hearing how things are done in Denmark, which I enjoy talking about,” says Jensen.
Currently, Jensen sees financing as the biggest challenge in getting offshore wind started in India. “The components for the first projects will need to be imported, so manufacturing is not an issue until a later stage. So, for the first projects, it is about finding proper financing options. Cheap financing has a major impact on the offshore wind business case as it is capital-intensive. Besides financing, I also think that the Indian cost-sensitive market is a challenge. Offshore wind will always be more expensive than onshore and solar. So offshore wind needs to be looked at with different priorities than cheap power. It helps with energy independence, grid stability and power diversification,” he says.
Jensen follows a traditional Nordic approach in management style, with a flat hierarchy and placing a lot of trust in employees. He enjoys travelling and plans a vacation with his wife and daughter whenever he finds time. Jensen holds an MSc in Finance and International Business and a BSc in Economics and Business Administration from Aarhus University.
