With higher installed
capacity than solar, wind energy may hold the key to unlocking India’s
renewable energy potential.
The wind industry, which
had been spearheading India’s renewable energy push since the end of 1990s, is
now fearing just that.
Ever since the government
unveiled its ambitious plans to generate 100 GW of solar electricity by the
year 2022, solar energy has been the showpiece of India’s renewable energy
policy and its climate change action plan. Wind energy has been reduced to
playing second fiddle, despite the fact that it was an early mover in the
renewable energy sector and even today has an installed capacity of about four
times more than solar energy.
Thanks to sustained
policy push, incentives, and attention from the highest echelons of decision
making, solar energy has started to take off in a big way. In the last one
year, more than 3 GW of solar capacity was added in the country, taking the
total installed capacity to almost 8 GW. It is still a tall order to attain the
target of 100 GW in the next six years, but at least the sector cannot blame
negligence.
The wind industry, which
had been spearheading India’s renewable energy push since the end of 1990s, is
now fearing just that. While the sector would not mind the attention that solar
has been getting in the last few years, but has been seeking some policy
consideration for itself as well.
“The importance being
given to solar is not unexpected. Wind is placed in a much better situation and
is already fairly well established, while solar is still in its infancy. But
solar cannot be the only solution to India’s energy problems. The answer has to
come from both solar and wind. Hybrid (combined solar and wind generation)
policy is also going to play a major role,” Sarvesh Kumar, chairman of the
Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA), said.
Huge potential
At nearly 27 GW of
installed capacity, India is already the world’s fourth biggest producer of
wind-based electricity, after China, the United States and Germany. Latest
outlook from Global Wind Energy Council shows that India would have close to 45
GW of installed wind energy by the year 2020 even in the most modest of growth
scenarios. If pushed aggressively, it can go up to 67 GW by 2020. That means,
India’s target of generating about 60 GW of electricity through wind energy can
be realised two years in advance.
Last year, the National
Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) in Chennai revised the estimate of wind power
potential in the country. It was earlier estimated to be just over 102 GW, if
tapped at a height of 80 metres from the ground. Thanks to availability of
better technology, the NIWE said it is now possible for Indian companies to
install taller wind mills that go up till a height of 100 metres. In that case,
the potential for wind energy in India shoots up almost three times, reaching
302 GW. What’s remarkable is that more than half of this potential, 153 GW, is located
on wastelands, according to NIWE estimates.
Viewed from this context,
India has currently utilised just about eight per cent of its wind energy
potential. It can easily grow at a fast rate, possibly even outpacing the
growth in the solar energy sector.
More attention needed
India’s wind capacity has
grown from nearly 12 GW in 2009-10 to more than 27 GW now. Almost 10 GW of this
capacity addition has come in the last four years during which most of the
policy focus was on solar energy.
To accelerate growth in
the sector, the government, in January 2015, announced a separate Wind Mission
under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The Solar Mission has
been in place since 2008, as one of the original eight missions in the NAPCC.
There are also plans to increase the wind energy generation target to 100 GW by
2022 from the current 60 GW. Earlier this year, the government also announced
incentives for the industry to ‘repower’ their existing wind turbines. Most of
the wind mills in the country are of low capacities and are harnessing energy
that is far less than the potential. As part of the incentive, the companies
would get assistance from the government to replace the existing turbines with
those of higher capacities.
The wind industry, however,
is asking for more. “There is no doubt over the intention of the government to
promote the wind sector. But the clarity and focus seem to be missing. There is
no consistency in the policies. Recently, the government decided to withdraw 50
per cent of accelerated depreciation benefit to the industry from next year.
The generation-based incentives are also being withdrawn. These steps are not
particularly helpful for the growth of the industry,” IWTMA’s Kumar said.
He said the wind
manufacturing industry had the capacity to produce equipments for 10 GW of
generation, but domestic demand was only about 3 GW. “In the absence of proper
atmosphere for export, our potential is getting wasted. The government needs to
create the platform to enable the industry to export. Outside, our companies
have to compete with their Chinese rivals who get lots of incentives from their
government,” Kumar explained.
The industry is also
keenly awaiting the Renewable Energy law that has been in the making for quite
some time now. “The industry is looking forward to a new renewable law that
would bring in policy clarity and remove uncertainties in the sector. Investors
need long-term predictability to invest big money. Currently, that is missing
in the wind energy sector. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issues
guidelines from time to time, but many times these are not adhered to. States
have their own separate policies. The wind energy sector is waiting for the
right kind of attention from the government in order to achieve its true
potential,” Manish Kumar Singh, secretary of the Indian Wind Energy
Association, said.
------------------------THE INDIAN EXPRESS-----------------------------
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