Answer is blowing in the wind
13 November 2001
"Bajaj Auto consumes a lot of electricity. With the cost of power at Rs 4.20 a unit, it makes sense for us to enter the wind energy business. Wind energy costs about Rs 1.60 per unit in the first year, going down in the subsequent years. So there is economy in wind power," says Pradeep Kumar.
While wind energy compares favourably in terms of capital investment, it does not score on performance. Wind turbines have very low plant load factors. Wind turbines require winds of a minimum of 3.5 metres per second speed. Wind speeds below the minimum threshold do not have the power to move the blades that move the turbines to generate energy, while too strong winds can damage the blades and bring energy generation to a standstill. Hence, the machines are devised to shut off beyond the wind speed of 25 metres per second.
Thus, windmills have a plant load factor of 20 to 30 per cent, compared to the typical 60 to 70 per cent in a thermal plant.
The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) acts as the nodal agency for funding wind energy projects, some of which get re-financed through World Bank loans. IREDA, for instance, provides soft loans for renewable energy investment, with a limit of Rs 75 crore per wind energy project (with a cap of Rs 144 crore per group). The union ministry of non-conventional energy resources charts out sites with the right wind speeds for generating energy, while the nodal energy development agencies in each state assists in acquiring land, construction of approach roads and obtaining grid connectivity for evacuating the power.
State governments have also framed investor-friendly policies in order to attract private investment in wind energy projects. These include 100 per cent accelerated depreciation, sales tax waivers and deferrals, relief in excise duty, extended tax holidays, the facility to wheel and bank power, buy back of power at minimum price by the state electricity authority and permitting sale of power to a third party.
The Maharashtra government, which has given no objection certificates to developers to the tune of 442 MW in the state, has a number of incentives to offer. These include Rs 20 lakh subsidy per project, in addition to 100 per cent sales tax benefit to the extent of the investment spread over six years. It also allows duty exemption for five years on sale of power. Both the power thus produced, and the sales tax benefits are transferable. The nodal agency, MEDA, charges Rs 35 lakh per MW towards infrastracture development.
