Cement, Energy & Environment

( \ _ The MNRE in the twelfth five year plan period i.e 2012-17 has fixed a capacity addition of 15,000 MW for wind power alone and remaining 15,000 MW from other renewable sources like solar, small hydro, biomass, bagasse cogeneration etc. This will push the net installed capacity of wind power to about 32,000 MW and total renewable capacity is expected to be 55,000 MW. The wind power generation capacity in India is 49, 130 MW as per the official estimates in the Indian Wind Atlas (201 0) by the Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET). The potential is calculated with respect to 2 per cent land availability at windy locations and pertains to a 50m hub height level of the wind turbines. Presently large wind turbines with higher hub height in the range of 80-100 m with large rotor diameters up to 120 m are available in the Indian market. Conceding technological advancement and higher wind speeds at higher hub heights, the potential of 49,130 MW at 50 m level if extrapolated at 80 m standard hub height, the projected wind potential using the same land availability will be in the order of 1,02,788 MW (not officially declared owing to lack of validation). The estimated installed potential at hub heights of 50 m and 80m by C-WET is shown in Table 3. Table 3: Estimation of installed wind power potential at 50 m and 80 m hub-height. States/UTs Estimated Potential (M~W) r·~~- st;;tes/UTs - - EstimatedPot;nfutl (MW) @50m ($) @80 m(* #$) @50m ($) @80 m(* #$) Andaman & Nicobar 2 365 Lakshadweep 16 16 Andhra Pradesh 5394 14497 Madhya Pradesh 920 2931 Arunachal Pradesh* 201 236 Maharashtra 5439 5961 Assam* 53 112 Manipur* 7 56 Bihar 144 Meghalaya* 44 82 Chhattisgarh* 23 314 Nagaland* 3 16 Daman and Diu 4 Odisha 910 1384 Gujarat 10609 35071 Puducherry 120 Haryana 93 Rajasthan 5005 5050 Himachal Pradesh* 20 64 Sikkim* 98 98 Jharkhand 91 Tamil Nadu 5374 14152 Jammu & Kashmir* 5311 5685 Uttarakhand* 161 534 Karnataka 8591 13593 Uttar Pradesh* 137 1260 Kerala 790 837 West Bengal* 22 22 _ J'otai<Above (A) 30,994 . -7 <1.os : .Toia' Above·(s)' ,:-' ·:'18,.136 i~-~-;·: T~-~ 3~:6.~~1:~~ Total (A)+ (B) . 49,130 1,02,788 * Wind potential has yet to be validated with actual measurements. #Estimation is based on meso scale modelling (Indian Wind Atlas). $ As actual land assessment is not done on a conservative consideration 2 per cent land availability for all states except Himalayan and north eastern states, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and poor windy states has been assumed. In other areas 0.5 per cent land availability has been assumed. Source: C-WET Policy and regulatory framework In 1993, when the MNES issued guidelines for purchase of power from renewable energy sources by state utilities, it marked the beginning of initial policy support for renewable energy-based power generation in India. The guidelines prescribed the power purchase tariff of Rs. 2.25 per unit, with annual escalation of 5 per cent, for power generated from renewable energy sources, including wind . Promotional measures like wheeling and banking of power generated from renewable energy sources were also prescribed in the guidelines, which were adopted by various state utilities. In aaddition to the power procurement guidelines, other policy initiatives were also undertaken - the most important being inclusion of wind power in the list of projects/activities eligible for 100 per cent accelerated depreciation. The most important development after this was the enactment of the Electricity Act, 2003 with specific provisions for promotion of renewable energy. The significant provisions of the Act that provided a boost to the growth in wind power are -Section 61(h) and Section 86(1)e. While Section 61 (h) gives power to state electricity regulatory commissions for fixing preferential tariff for renewable energy projects so as to promote 25