Cement and Energy

Table 2 Working Results from Ramco Wind Farm Year Muppandal Poolavadi Total Revenue Generated Capacity Generated Units in lacs Factor% Units in lacs 1992-93 0.66 - - 1993-94 80.67 - - 1994-95 132.04 - - 1995-96 208.37 18.25 161.61 1996-97 170. 17 14.93 297.87 1997-98 173.14 16.30 263.61 1st Apr to 124.58 21.92 254.1 1 30th Sept. 1998 The success of Ramco wind farm could be traced to the following: i. Normally it takes a minimum of 5 to 6 years to set up a 33 MW capacity power plant whereas it was on ly 3 years in the present case. II. iii. The cost of setting up a 33-MW power plant based on any conventional source would have been much higher compared to the Rs. 117 crore spent by MCL. Since only a minimum manpower is required for wind farm activity, the operational cost also is low. Discussion Like any other infrastructure project, wind power also depends on governmental policies for its promotion, and an active cooperation is essential between all the partners concerned viz. the wi nd farm promoter, the State Electricity Board and other government agencies. In the present case, though initially they encouraged a lot of private participation, the response from TNEB at the operating level was rather slow. In fact, TNEB had not anticipated such large-scale parti cipation in this area and their reaction in setting up power evacuation faci lities like sub-stations, additional lines, was inadequate. Capacity Generated Capacity Rs.Crore Factor, % Units in lacs Factor, % - 0.66 - 0.02 - 80.67 - 1.77 - 132.04 - 2.90 7.64 369.98 12.90 8.77 17.20 468.04 161.00 11.33 14.90 436.75 15.00 12.80 29.20 378.69 25.90 12.85 Evacuation facilities - Owing to the slackness in creating these facilities, many wind farms could not have the power generated by them evacuated, much to the loss of the promoter, TNEB as well as to the country. Thi s position, however, has lately improved partially with TNEB setting up additional infrastructural faci lities for power evacuation. Maintenance -The second issue in wind farm operation is maintenance of the wind electric generators. In view of the seasonal wind availabi lity, it is imperative to mruntain wind farms in ship-shape to exploit the wind potential to the utmost. Lack of machine availability will not only reduce generation but also tell upon the entire project viabi lity. Since most of the wi nd farms in the country are funded through institutional loans, fai lure to repay the same will mean additional burden on the meagre income. Manpower - The third issue is lack of trained manpower. Since wind power industry in India is of recent origin, getting skilled manpower for operation and maintenance acts as a bottleneck in improving machine availability and thereby harnessing the avrulable wind potential. Needless to say, that proper trruning of the wind farm personnel is an urgent need. 6