Government offers 50p per unit sop for wind power

In a move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the ministry of new and renewable energy (NRE) has announced an incentive of 50 paise per unit of wind power fed by independent power producers into the national grid.

The generation-based incentive (GBI) is aimed at attracting investment in the wind energy sector and increasing the quantum of grid-interactive renewable power. The subsidy is expected to give a boost to wind power generation by the addition of another 4,000 mw by the end of the11th Five Year Plan.

The subsidy is estimated to cost the government Rs380 crore, new and renewable energy minister Farooq Abdullah said at a conference organised by the Independent Power Producers Association of India (IPPAI) in New Delhi on Thursday.

''We are implementing the GBI scheme for grid-interactive wind power producers from today. This would definitely boost wind power producers and help in cutting carbon emission,'' he said.

The incentive has been capped at Rs62 lakh per MW and the total yearly disbursement will not exceed Rs15.5 lakh per MW for the first four years. The incentives, to be continued till the end of the current plan period (2007-12), will be provided to companies through the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), the financial development agency for the renewable energy sector.

The incentive, however, will be limited to wind power generation plants with a maximum installed capacity of 4,000 MW.