29-12-2012, 03:02 PM
Wind power in India
INTRODUCTION
The development of wind power in India began in the 1990s, and has significantly increased in the last few years. Although a relative newcomer to the wind industry compared with Denmark or the United States, India has the fifth largest installed wind power capacity in the world.[1] In 2009-10 India's growth rate was highest among the other top four countries.
As of 31 March 2011 the installed capacity of wind power in India was 17967[2][3] MW, mainly spread across Tamil Nadu (6007 MW), Gujarat (2,884 MW), Maharashtra (2310.70 MW), , Karnataka (1730.10 MW), Rajasthan (1524.70 MW), Madhya Pradesh (275.50 MW), Andhra Pradesh (200.20 MW), Kerala (32.8 MW), Orissa (2MW),[4][5] West Bengal (1.1 MW) and other states (3.20 MW).[6] It is estimated that 6,000 MW of additional wind power capacity will be installed in India by 2012.[7] Wind power accounts for 6% of India's total installed power capacity, and it generates 1.6% of the country's power.[8] India's wind atlas is available.
Overview
India is the world's fifth largest wind power producer, with a generation capacity of 8,896 MW.[9] Shown here is a wind farm in Kayathar, Tamil Nadu.
The worldwide installed capacity of wind power reached 197 GW by the end of 2010. China (44,733 MW), US (40,180 MW), Germany (27,215 MW) and Spain (20,676 MW) are ahead of India in fifth position.[10] The short gestation periods for installing wind turbines, and the increasing reliability and performance of wind energy machines has made wind power a favored choice for capacity addition in India.[11]
Suzlon, an Indian-owned company, emerged on the global scene in the past decade, and by 2006 had captured almost 7.7 percent of market share in global wind turbine sales. Suzlon is currently the leading manufacturer of wind turbines for the Indian market, holding some 52 percent of market share in India. Suzlon’s success has made India the developing country leader in advanced wind turbine technology.[12]
[edit] State-level wind power
There is a growing wind energy installations in the number of the states across the India.
Tamil Nadu (6970 MW)
The Government of Tamil Nadu is committed to mitigate the climate change effects by bringing out conducive policies to promote renewable energy generation in the State. The Government intends to make renewable energy a people’s movement just like rain water harvesting.
Barriers
Initial cost for wind turbines is greater than that of conventional fossil fuel generators per MW installed. Noise is produced by the rotor blades. This is not normally an issue in the locations chosen for most wind farms and research by Salford University[18] shows that noise complaints for wind farms in the UK are almost non-existent.
Future
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has fixed a target of 10,500 MW between 2007–12, but an additional generation capacity of only about 6,000 MW might be available for commercial use by 2012.[7]
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced a revised estimation of the potential wind resource in India from 49,130 MW assesed at 50m Hub heights to 102,788 MW assesed at 80m Hub height. The wind resource at higher Hub heights that are now prevailing is possibly even more.