Focus on onshore wind projects to meet Tamil Nadu’s power needs

Last year, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had set the nation’s target for wind power generation capacity by the year 2022 at 60,000 MW. The wind power generation capacity of Tamil Nadu is estimated to be at around 35% of India’s total, which makes the state one of the top contenders when it comes to investments in the wind energy sector. In fact, an energy expert had commented recently that the nation is slated to get electricity generated from offshore wind-propelled plants (wind power plants located in the sea) installed in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat in about five years as part of the country’s green energy development programmes. 

Mathias Steck, Executive VP and Regional Manager at DNV GL, an international technical consultant to onshore and offshore wind project developers, says, “We are preparing India for offshore wind (and) providing MNRE a road map for offshore wind for Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. It would take three to five years for commercial offshore wind projects to take off in India.” A consortium of the Facilitating Offshore Wind in Industry (FOWIND) programme funded by the European Union, has even done a series of reports on wind conditions for wind-generated electricity and its integration into a grid along the coastlines of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

However, regional players in the wind energy industry have said that before turning one’s focus on the offshore projects, there is ample scope for improvement in the existing capacities onshore (on land). K Kumar, Head, Business Development, SB Wind Energy Private Limited, a 10-year-old company based out of Chennai, says, “We have a lot of unidentified and identified sites available both in Tamil Nadu and across India that can be utilised for setting up wind power generation units. One of the main hurdles faced by companies in the wind power generation sector is that of delayed payments. The companies depend on the buyers (i.e. the state electricity boards) for their payments. When these payments get delayed, it deters investors from making any further investments in a state. We know of cases where some investors are looking at setting up wind power units in Gujarat, instead of doing so in TN, because of such issues.” 

He goes on to add, “The cost of setting up an offshore wind power generation unit is roughly two to three times the cost of setting up an onshore unit. In a country like India, where there are several thousands of acres of lands with potential for wind power lying unused, the priority should be on making those lands usable. Offshore projects are justifiable for nations that have a deficit when it comes to land, which is not the case with India.”