To facilitate the growth of wind power production in the country, several fiscal and financial incentives such as Accelerated Depreciation and exemption of concessional customs duty for procuring certain components of wind electric generators are being provided by the government to private sector investors.
In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State (IC) New & Renewable Energy, Power and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship R K Singh, on Tuesday stated that by October 2019, 37,090.03 MW capacity of wind power has already been installed in the country. Further, MNRE has hitherto issued bids for 15,100 MW of wind power projects and projects with a cumulative capacity of 12,162.50 MW have been awarded.
In its “Guidelines for Development of Onshore Wind Power Projects” released on 22 October 2016, the ministry has provided detailed guidelines to aid the development of wind power projects in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way. The guidelines have been devised keeping the requirements of project developers, states’ and national imperatives in mind. Some of the factors the guidelines cover include site feasibility, micrositing criteria, type and quality certified wind turbines, compliance of grid regulations, real-time monitoring, online registry and performance reporting, health and safety provisions, decommissioning plan, etc.
Elaborate norms for the efficient procurement of power has also been laid down. In his reply, Singh stated, “The Government has also issued ‘Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Connected Wind Power Projects’, on 8th December, 2017, with an objective to provide a framework for procurement of wind power through a transparent process of bidding including standardization of the process and defining of roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders.”
To facilitate the growth of wind power production in the country, several fiscal and financial incentives such as Accelerated Depreciation and exemption of concessional customs duty for procuring certain components of wind electric generators are being provided by the government to private sector investors. Apart from that, wind projects commissioned before 31 March 2017 can avail Generation Based Incentive (GBI), said Singh. Support on the technical front shall also be provided. “Technical support including wind resource assessment and identification of potential sites is being provided through the National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai,” he added.
A list with state-wise installed wind power capacity was also presented by MNRE. While Tamil Nadu and Gujarat bagged the top two spots with a cumulative capacity of 9,231.77 MW and 7,203.77 MW respectively by October 2019, some other notable states contributing to the sector during the same time included Maharashtra with 4,794.13 MW, Karnataka with 4,753.40 MW, Rajasthan with 4,299.72 MW and Andhra Pradesh with 4092.45 MW installed wind power capacity.
Indian Wind Energy Association,
CISRS House
14, Jangpura B,
Mathura Road, Opp. Rajdoot Hotel,
New Delhi - 110014
