INTERVIEW - India hopes to double wind power generation by 2007
By Reuters
Wednesday August 2, 07:56 PM
By Unni Krishnan
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India hopes to almost double its wind power generation to 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2007 to meet rising energy demand and cut its reliance on dirty coal and costly oil, a minister said on Wednesday.
Capacity in the world's fourth-largest wind power generator rose by 45 percent in the year to March 2006, to 5,340 megawatts.
Big industrial units like state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Indian Oil Corp. are now scrambling to set up wind farms, which attract hefty tax breaks.
"The trend has been set. We added nearly 2,000 MW in the previous year. I am confident by next year we will have 10,000 megawatts from wind power," Vilas Muttemwar, minister for non-conventional energy sources told Reuters in an interview.
"Lot of people are exploring and the experience so far has been good."
Electricity produced from wind is currently costlier than that from gas, thermal or hydro plants, but tax breaks, lower equipment import duties, and cheap loans keep prices competitive.
Indian allows 100 percent of investment in wind projects to be written off against tax over a period of two years.
With the subsidies, analysts say, the cost of wind generation ranges from 2.50 to 3.50 rupees per unit, or kilowatt-hour, on par with thermal electricity generation. Power produced by old hydro-based units costs below one rupee.
The move to wind is not just limited to India as neighbouring China, the world's second-largest power consumer, is witnessing a investment boom in wind power due to the rise in global oil prices and a push for green energy.
LONG-TERM BENEFIT
Muttemwar says wind power works out cheaper than conventional energy over the long-term due to almost non-existent running costs. Farms can be set up quickly to bridge power shortfalls.
"It pays in the long-term since there are no recurring costs unlike thermal power which requires a constant fuel supply," Muttemwar said.
India produces more than 120,000 megawatts of power, about 12 percent less than total demand.
The subsidies and a power-starved market have attracted foreign firms such as Danish NEG Micon, the world's biggest wind turbine maker Vestas, Germany's Enercon GmbH, and local player Suzlon.
India has the potential to produce 45,000 megawatts of wind power, and the government has identified 210 locations where farms can be installed, and is continuing its search for more locations, the minister said.
Clean energy such as wind, biogas and solar energy offer an attractive option for India, which imports 70 percent of its crude oil needs at a cost of more than $40 billion a year.
The ministry of non-conventional energy sources estimates a 200-kilowatt wind turbine replacing a thermal power plant would save 120 to 200 tonnes of coal.
Burning that much coal would add two to three tonnes of sulphur dioxide, 1.2 to 2.4 tonnes of nitrogen oxide and 300-500 tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
"Wind energy is future power. There are no emissions and no pollutants. It preserves the environment for future generations," Muttemwar said.
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