Cyclone 'Biporjoy' aids windmills to supply 1/4th of TN's energy requirement

CHENNAI: Thanks to the cyclonic storm 'Biporjoy' that formed over in the Arabian Sea, the windmills in the State are contributing nearly one-fourth of daily energy consumption for over a week helping Tangedco to cut down on high-cost power purchases and backing down its thermal power plants to save coal.

Though wind power generation normally picks up during mid-June coinciding with the onset of South West Monsoon, this year the generation from windmills started early due to an active cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea.

According to the data from State Load Despatch Centre, windmills in the State generated 95 million units (MU) on Friday as against the State's daily energy consumption of 389 MUs which is nearly 25 per cent of total consumption.

Wind power generation has gone up in the State since June 1.

A senior official of Tangedco attributed the increase in wind power generation to the cyclonic storm 'Biporjoy' developed over the South East Arabian Sea.

"Wind season normally begins with the onset of the South West Monsoon. But the wind generation picked even before the onset of the monsoon, and it is due to the storm. We hope with the onset of the SW Monsoon, the wind power generation will continue to remain high," the official added.

From June 1 to 10, the windmills generated a total of 826 MUs as against 869 MUs generated in May month.

The official said that if both solar and wind power generation is taken together, renewable energy contributed nearly one-third of the state's total energy consumption.

On Thursday, wind and solar together generated 117 MUs as against the State's energy consumption of 386 MUs.

Tangedco officials also noted that the renewable energy generation by Tangedco in 2022-23 helped avoid 26 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.