20 Dec

Wind Energy

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Contents

• Current Wind Energy Situation in India
• Recent Steps taken by Government
• Why did India miss its wind energy target?
• Offshore Wind Energy
• Steps Taken
• Challenges

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Current Wind Energy Situation in India

• India has made significant progress in the development of wind energy and has emerged as the fourth largest producer in the world with a total capacity of 42 GW as of Feb 2023.
• But India did miss the target of achieving 60GW capacity by 2022.

Target:

• 140 GW by 2030

India’s Potential:

• As per National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) in Chennai, India has a much higher wind power potential. At a hub height of 120 meters, the potential is of 602 GW of onshore and 100 GW of fixed and floating offshore. A very remarkable fact is that half of the potential is located in
  wastelands.

Recent Steps taken by Government.

i. National Wind Mission (NWM) – launched in 2015 as part of NAPCC -> To achieve the target of 60 GW by 2022 with an investment of 10 lakh crore.

ii. Scheme for Procurement of Blended Wind Power from 2500 MW ISTS connected projects.

• The objective of the Scheme is to provide a framework for procurement of electricity from 2500 MW ISTS Grid Connected Wind Power Projects with up to 20% blending with Solar PV Power through a transparent process of bidding.

Why did India miss its wind energy target?

• Inconsistent policy environments also discourage investment in the sector.
  • For e.g. In 2016, the government decided to withdraw 50 percent of accelerated depreciation benefit to industry from 2017.
• Legacy challenges – infrastructure and transmission bottlenecks, financial conditions of discoms etc.
• Moving from feed in tariff system to e-reverse auction in 2017.
  • Competitive bidding at low tariffs led to wind energy exploitation only remaining feasible in Gujarat and TN. In these two states plant Load Factor (PLF) is higher due to high wind speed.
  • The overemphasis on low tariff meant that tariff caps set for centrally sponsored auctioned projects are often too low to make the projects bankable or economically viable.
  • In 2022, MNRE has said that it would be doing away with the practice of reverse auction.
    This is expected to bring some relief to the wind energy sector.
• Cost Escalation: Due to increased commodity prices
• Competition: especially from cheaper photovoltaic power
• Reduced Policy Attention: Government’s policy focus has been on solar energy and wind energy
  has been reduced to playing a second fiddle, despite the fact that it was an early mover in the renewable energy sector.
• Land Acquisition is emerging as another major issue.

What Further needs to be done?

i. Clear, well-defined policy

• Perhaps the keenly awaited Renewable Energy Law that has been in the making for quite some time now.
• This would bring policy clarity and remove uncertainties in the sector.

ii. Repowering – i.e., upgrading the capacity of the existing wind turbines to produce more energy: It can increase productivity and spur socio-economic benefits.

iii. Work on solving legacy challenges.

• Strengthening transmission infrastructure, DISCOMS and Changing State land policies to simplify land acquisition.

iv. Develop Offshore wind roadmaps:

• The offshore wind measurement campaign can yield LiDAR data to identify bankable offshore wind zones.
• Promote engagement among decision-makers at the federal, state and local levels of government, civil society organizations, and local stakeholder communities to align offshore wind development strategies and promote a collective understanding of offshore wind’s socioeconomic benefits.

v. Creating Export Potential for wind energy equipment

• Develop a technology exchange program and align Indian manufacturing based with global wind supply chain to create export-oriented opportunities.
• Including these components in FTAs

vi. Focus on modular and micro-wind turbines: These can produce electricity at low wind speeds (5-6
kmph).

• These micro-turbines could be fixed on terrace like a TV aerial; on street and highway lights; agricultural pumps; traffic signals etc.
• It will reduce the land acquisition problem and would be suitable for regions which get continuous slow wind speed.

Offshore Wind Energy

What is offshore wind energy?

• It refers to deployment of wind farms inside the water bodies. They utilize the sea wind to generate electricity. These wind farms either use fixed foundation turbines or floating wind turbines.
  • A fixed foundation turbine is built on shallow water, whereas a floating wind turbine is built in deeper waters where its foundation is anchored in seabed. Floating wind farms are still in
    infancy.
• Target: MNRE has set a target of installing 5GW of offshore capacity by 2022 and 30GW by 2030.
• India’s offshore wind energy potential:
  • MNRE: India can generate 127 GW of offshore wind energy with its 7,600 km of coastline. Other sources mention it to be (World Bank Report – 195 GW (112 fixed and 83 floating);
• Advantages of offshore wind energy parks:
  • Renewable Energy
  • No land acquisition and land scarcity issues
  • Offshore wind turbines are more efficient compared to onshore ones(wind speed over water bodies is high and is consistent in direction)

Steps Taken

1. National Offshore Wind Energy Policy, 2015

• Nodal Ministry MNRE has been authorized for use of offshore areas within EEZ of the country
• National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has been authorized as Nodal agency for development of offshore wind energy in the country and to carry out allocation of offshore wind energy blocks, coordination and allied functions with related ministries and agencies.
• National Targets for offshore wind energy capacity has been set at 5 GW by 2022 and 30 GW by 2030.

2. In June 2022, MNRE has decided to bid out offshore wind energy blocks.

Challenges:

1. General challenges of wind energy as discussed above.

2. Technological and Engineering challenges: High sea breeze, corrosive saltwater and challenging seabed conditions require technological and engineering advancements.

3. Local substructure manufacturers, installations vessels and trained workers are lacking in India. Offshore wind turbines require stronger structures and foundations than onshore wind farms. This
can cause higher infrastructure cost.

4. Maintenance of offshore wind farms are more costly due to problems like cyclones.

5. Grid Infrastructure and Integration will be challenges as the power generated at sea has to be
transmitted to the onshore grid.

6. Environmental concerns: Environmentalists are worried that noise from offshore wind farms could
impact fish habitats.

Way forward to promote offshore wind energy:

• MNRE should set up a specific Renewable Purchase obligation (RPO) targets for each state just like it does for solar.
  • Note: Currently, there are two types of RPOs – Solar and Non-Solar
• Feed in Tariffs: Discoms can adopt feed-in tariff (FiT) regulations and make offshore wind power procurement mandatory.
• Skill Development – Capacity building programs, vocational training, and educational initiatives should be implemented to develop a skill workforce for offshore wind energy.
• Infrastructure Building: Initiatives to promote domestic manufacturing and supply chain  management.
• Environmental Impact Assessment and mitigation to prevent environmental degradation and
  protect biodiversity.