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The wind power industry in Tamil Nadu is likely to give Renergy 2014, a major renewable energy exhibition-cum-conference sponsored by the Tamil Nadu government, a miss. The wind industry is miffed over the poor priority accorded to it in the State, which incidentally has the highest installed wind power capacity in the country-7,200 MW-about 40 per cent of India’s. The state-owned electricity distribution utility, Tangedco, is often not buying power from the windmills, either because of the absence of transmission lines to evacuate the power or due to reasons of economics.

Due to this ‘back-down’, wind power producers in the State lost a huge amount of generation last year-2.5 billion units according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and 4.4 billion units going by the data provided by the Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (TASMA), many of whose members are also wind power producers. Both the arms of the industry-those who produce the wind mills and those who buy the wind mills from them to generate electricity-are up in arms.

Representing the latter, TASMA has argued that both the federal and state electricity grid codes call for ‘must run status’ to the wind turbines, which means that the power the turbines produce must be purchased by the distribution utility, (since wind power is both green and cheap.)

The wind turbine manufacturers are now showing their displeasure by not participating in Renergy 2014. The Renergy show of the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) is a prestigious event, being organised since 2012. Tamil Nadu, incidentally, is home to two of the top four wind turbine manufacturers in the country-Gamesa and Regen Powertech. The State also has two other smaller manufacturers, RRB and Leitner Shriram.

Asked about participation in Renergy 2014, the Chairman of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers’ Association, Mr Madhusudhan Khemka, vehemently denied any show of protest, but said that the industry saw no business prospects in the next 24 to 36 months in Tamil Nadu and hence was not keen on participating in the event.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has taken up the cause of the wind industry in the State. In a letter to the state’s Chief Secretary last week, the Secretary of the Ministry has said that MNRE understands the concerns of the state-that wind power is fickle and infirm and the unpredictability causes grid stability issues. However, the letter noted that “to not repeat the losses of 2013” the industry has offered to set up a Wind Energy Integration Facility with equipment and software to predict wind flows, at its own cost. The Indian Wind Power Association has “not been able to convince the officials of Tangedco” MNRE Secretary Upendra Tripathy said in the letter, calling for the state Chief Secretary’s “personal intervention”.

Source-On Request