Wind Energy in India- Renewable Energy

GS-Paper-3 Renewable Energy – Infrastructure development- Prelims & UPSC Interview

Context: Renewable energy mainly Wind energy is the most important topic of discussion in the 21^st Century when the World has faced the problem of Climate change and Energy security. This topic is highly important for UPSC's main examination under Paper-3 Infrastructure and Energy security.

As per a report by Fitch Solutions Macro Research, India is likely to install 54.7 GW of wind capacity by 2022 against the 60 GW target set by the government. It has also been found that land acquisition issues and grid bottlenecks will lead to delays to project implementation in the wind sector.

Wind power is one of the key renewable energy sources for electricity generation in India. With 37.5GW of capacity installed, the country currently ranks fourth in the world in wind power generation after China, the US and Germany

1. India experienced its highest-ever wind capacity addition of 5.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2016-2017, and the South Asian nation plans to achieve 60GW of power from wind by 2022.
2. Wind energy currently accounts for about 10% of India’s total installed electricity generation capacity.
3. The Government of India is offering various fiscal and financial incentives to promote wind power projects across the country via private sector investment. Through the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), the government has installed more than 800 wind monitoring stations.
4. The assessment undertaken by the country’s National Institute of Wind Energy suggests a gross wind power potential of 302GW in India at 100m above ground level.

Top Wind power

1. Muppandal Wind Farm: 1,500MW

Situated in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the 1,500 megawatts (MW) Muppandal wind farm is the country’s largest onshore wind farm. The project features a large number of wind turbines of varying sizes from 200 kilowatts (KW) to 1650KW.

Developed by the state-owned Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency, the facility uses wind from the Arabian Sea to generate renewable energy for nearby residents and contributes to India’s overall energy mix.

The wind farm features turbines from several manufacturers including Suzlon, NEG Micon, Vestas, and Enercon.

2. Jaisalmer Wind Park: 1,064MW

Developed by Suzlon Energy, the Jaisalmer wind park is the country’s second-largest onshore wind project. The 1,064MW project, which is located in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan, features a cluster of wind farm sites within the Jaisalmer district including Amarsagar, Badabaug, Baramsar, Tejuva and Soda Mada among others.

The wind park development started in 2001 and its current capacity was achieved in April 2012. Suzlon’s entire wind portfolio, ranging from the earliest 350Kw model to the latest S9X – 2.1MW series, has been used in the project.

Renewable energy solutions provider Suzlon built wind farms for a range of customers, including private and public sector firms, independent power producers and power utility providers.

3. Brahmanvel Wind Farm: 528MW

The 528MW Brahmanvel wind farm, located in the Dhule district of Maharashtra, has been developed by Parakh Agro Industries.

Apart from Dhule, the other places in Maharashtra which have a large number of power generating facilities include Satara, Sangli and Panchgani.

Maharashtra has the largest wind energy installed capacity in India after Tamil Nadu with 4098MW.

4. Dhalgaon Wind Farm: 278MW

Gadre Marine Exports developed the 278MW Dhalgaon wind farm in Sangli, Maharashtra. The wind farm, commissioned in 2005, features turbines from Suzlon and Enercon.

The investor-friendly policies make Maharashtra one of the best states to invest in wind energy. About 2309MW of private wind power projects have been installed in the state up to March 2011.

According to Maharashtra Energy Development Agency, the commercial viability of wind power projects is gradually increasing because of technological advancement.

5. Vankusawade Wind Park: 259MW

Maharashtra is also home to the 259MW Vankusawade wind park, which is one of India’s largest wind power production facilities.

The Vankusawade wind farm, which features Suzlon S33/350 turbines of 350KW each, is situated on a mountain plateau 1,150m above the Koyana Reservoir, around 40km from the town of Satara, Satara District.

The windy and cold Vankusawade site has various old, weather-worn turbines with lattice towers and decaying blades.

List of 10 Largest Wind Power Plants in India

Wind Power Potential in India

1. The Union government has set an ambitious target of achieving 175 GigaWatt (GW) of installed capacity from renewable energy sources by 2022, which includes 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind power capacity. The total renewable power installed capacity in the country stood at about 70 GW in the financial year 2017-18.
2. It is found by the National Institute for Wind Energy (based in Chennai) that western states have larger potential in terms of a stable, steady, and speedy wind flow starting from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The top States in India – Installed Wind Power Capacity

1. Tamil Nadu – Tamil Nadu tops the list of states with the largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country. The share of wind power in electricity generation was around 28% in 2018. Total wind capacity at the end of 2018 stood at 8,631 MW while its total installed electricity generation capacity stood at 30,447 MW at the end of 2018.
2. Gujarat – Gujarat houses the second-largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country. The share of wind power in electricity generation was around 19% in 2018.
3. Maharashtra – Maharashtra houses the third-largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country.
4. Karnataka – Karnataka houses the fourth-largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country.
5. Rajasthan – Rajasthan houses the fifth-largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country. Wind contributes around 20% of the total electricity generated in the state.

World’s 10 Largest Wind Power Plants

Policies Related to Wind Energy in India

Initially, the Government had the National Wind Power Policy but subsequently both the onshore and offshore wind policies were developed. For offshore wind energy, India has a very vibrant policy which came up in October 2015, known as National Offshore Wind Energy Policy framework. The objective is to develop the offshore wind energy in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) along the Indian coastline.

• A Solar-Wind Hybrid policy was issued in May 2018. The main objective of the policy is to provide a framework for the promotion of a large grid-connected wind-solar photovoltaic (PV) hybrid system for optimal and efficient utilization of wind and solar resources, transmission infrastructure and land. The wind-solar PV hybrid systems will help in reducing the variability in renewable power generation and achieving better grid stability.

Problems in the Wind Energy Sector

For the past three years, there has been a lull in the wind power sector. In 2016-17, India added around 5.5 GW; in 2017-18, it came down to 2 GW. Initially, the growth in the wind energy sector picked up because of the incentives in a generation, accelerated depreciation and taxation. The Government has gradually taken these incentives away. The lowest bidding price for solar energy is Rs 2.23 per unit whereas in wind energy, it is about Rs 4.50. Investors find investment in the solar energy sector more lucrative.

• Policies related to wind energy are still in a transition phase.
• The Government of India came up with a framework with respect to auctioning in December 2017. There is a ceiling of tariffs imposed on every auction. Winds being region specific, achieving the particular tariff rate becomes difficult.
• General challenges with respect to distribution companies (discom risks), for instance, curtailment in power generation, delayed payments to energy producers etc.