India keen to harness wind power

India may plan aggressively to harness wind power -- it was one of the the five countries of the world that added more than 1,000 Mw capacity in 2006-07 -- but the downsides of this form of energy in terms of high capital costs and unpredictability of wind may ensure that it plays a marginal role.

The present installed wind power capacity in the country stands at 7,093 Mw and is expected to touch 10,500 Mw by 2011-12, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). However, this is just 7.8 per cent of the total installed capacity of 134,000 Mw in the country and it contributes to less than one per cent of total electricity generated.

Environmentalists across the world favour wind energy over fossil fuel. Wind is an inexhaustible resource and has zero emission, said Shirish S Garud, a fellow at the Energy and Resources Institute.

"India has a wind power potential of 20,000 Mw for immediate exploitation and you don't have to import wind from the West Asia because it is freely available," he added.

So can wind power help solve India's power crisis?

"Absolutely not,"said a senior MNRE official adding that it could be supplementary but would never replace the conventional energy sources.

Wind energy is called 'infirm power' because it is subject to nature's vagaries, which affects its availability. According to a senior Central Electricity Authority (CEA) official, wind is abundantly available only during monsoons and is also temperature dependent, which does not allow for planned addition of wind energy to the grid. This means it cannot be used for meeting the peak demand.

Most of the wind power projects are being set up in the captive sector for private use. Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF) is another factor that doesn't work in favour of wind power with most wind power plants working on a PLF (plant load factor) of 10 per cent to 20 per cent.

Thus, it can in no way compete with coal- and gas-based plants where the PLF is over 80 per cent.

According to an official at Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), since generation of wind cannot be controlled and relied upon, it is impossible to plan electricity production unlike thermal and hydro-power.

The cost of installation of wind projects is also very high compared to conventional sources. The capital cost of wind power projects range between Rs 4-5 crore (Rs 40-50 million) per Mw.

Wind power will be used but as an environmental obligation to reduce carbon emission, therefore, its contribution would be minimal, said the CERC official.