Wind Power in India – What you Wanted to Know about Wind Turbines,Indian Wind Companies,Subsidies,Capacity,Offshore Wind and Wind Farms

Wind Power in India forms the biggest Renewable Energy Sector in India with an annual investment of around $2.5-3.5 Billion a year and a capacity installation of around 1-2 Gw a year.The Wind Industry in India has shown tremendous growth to become the 5th largest global market by installed capacity which totaled around 13 GW by end 2010.With the government of India mandating a target of 15% from Renewable Energy by 2020 from 6% now,Wind Energy stands to gain immensely.A Number of Private Companies like Caparo,Technoelectric,KSK,Orient Green Power,Greenko have newly entered the Wind Electricity sector and are setting up hundreds of megawatts of capacity each.Wind Energy Companies in India have also rushed to set up Wind Turbine Equipment Manufacturing alone or  in JV with foreign partners while Global WTG Companies like Siemens,GE are adding to their Indian factories as well.States like Maharashtra which are low on Green Energy Capacity are giving additional incentives and subsidies to promote the use of Wind Energy while low speed Wind sites are being targeted as well.

Wind Energy Companies in India

1) Suzlon Energy – Suzlon Energy is the biggest Wind Energy Company by far with 4-5 Gigawatts of WTG Capacity per year.Its subsidiaries Hansen Transmission and RePower are also big players in the Wind Energy in Europe.The Company has seen its revenues and profits take a huge hit in recent times but has been recovering slowly.

2) RRB Energy – The company has a long history and manufactures Wind Turbines at its plants in Tamil Nadu.The Company has a capacity of 300 MW which it is expanding to 700 MW.The Company makes only 2 models with power rating of 600 Kw and 1.8 MW.Merill Lynch has made a small investment in this company.

3) NEPC India – This company was one of the wind energy heavyweights and a stock market darling earlier.However It no longer remains an active player in the Indian market .Heavy Debt and Bad Management drove to this company to the ground despite being a pioneer in the Indian Wind Power Market.

4) Auro Mira Energy – The company is more of a Green Utility rather than a full fledged WEG manufacturer.It has made plans to manufacture Wind Turbines in the future.It has attracted funds from Baring and IFC to push forward its Green Plans.

5) Regen Powertech – It is a small scale WTG Supplier like RRB Energy which recently set up a small 300 MW manufacturing facility in Tada,Andhra Pradesh recently.The company licenses technology from Vensys to manufacture 1.5 MW gearless Wind Turbines.The company has managed to supply both big and small wind farms over the last 2 years.The company is supported by the PE arm of Future Group.

6) WinWind – The company is not exactly a domestic company rather one with a Finnish Origin.It is owned by the Abu Dhabi Masdar ,Siva Group and the government of Finland.It has recently estalished a 1000 MW capacity in Venga,Tamil Nadu and also has a 500 MW plant in Finland as well.The company plans to producer 3 MW Turbines at its Indian plant as well.

7) Pioneer Wincon – The company is a JV between the Pioneer Group and Wincon of Denmark.It makes small 250 KW Turbines and is a bit player with 30 years of operations in India.The Company remains a small static player in the Wind Energy Market of India.

8) Chiranjeevi Wind Energy – A Small bit player like Pioneer Wincon which engages mostly in the sale of small 250 KW Wind Turbines.Like Pioneer Wincon it has sold a number of these Turbines to small companies mainly in the Southern Part of India.

9) Lietnar Shriram Limited – The company is a 50:50 JV betwen the Shriram Group of India and Lietnar of Italy.The company makes gearless turbines of 1.5 MW capacity and has supplied to small farms in Maharashtra.The company has a major inhouse customer in the form of Orient Green Power which is building a 300 MW farm in Tamil Nadu using Lietnar Shriram Wind Turbines.

10) Kenersys – The company is part of the Baba Kalyani Group which is a major forgings manufacturer in India.It was bought over in 2007,when the Kalyani Group and PE firm First Reserve bought over the German company RSB Consult.The Company mainly  makes 2 and 2.5 MW turbines and has production facilities both in India and Germany.It has wind design capabilities between 1-3.6 MW and with a powerful parent, it could become a success in the future.Amongst the newer wind energy companies like Lietnar,RRB Energy,Regen and WinWind,it looks like the one with most potential.

Foreign Wind Turbine Manufacturers in India

Major Global Wind Heavywieghts whcih have  Turbine Production Facilities in India or are selling Wind Turbines to domestic Utilities are

1. Vestas
2. Enercon
3. Gamesa
4. Siemens
5. GE
6. Dongfang Electric
7. Shanghai Electric

Wind Power Subsidy in India

1. Tax incentives – Indian renewable energy companies are entitled to take 80.0% accelerated depreciation on assets employed in renewable energy power generation and benefit from a 10-year tax holiday.
2. Generation Based Incentives (GBI) –  The Federal Government gives an  incentive of 50 paisa per unit of wind power supplied to the grid by independent wind power producers. The incentive is limited to wind farms with a maximum aggregate installed capacity of 4,000 MW.This is over and above the state fixed electricity tariffs for Wind Energy Generation.
3. Preferential Tariffs –  State electricity regulatory commissions (SERCS) are encouraged to set preferential tariffs for power produced from Wind energy.You can read the detailed tariffs for wind energy at the CWET

Wind Zone                                                                 Tariff (Rs./kWh)

• Wind Zone 1  (200-250 W/m2) Wind             5.63
• Wind Zone 2 (250-300 W/m2) Wind              4.90
• Wind Zone 3 (300-400 W/m2) Wind              4.17
• Wind Zone 4 (above 400 W/m2) Wind            3.75

1. Renewable Purchase Obligations – This is the Indian name for RPS which means the obligation to purchase a fixed amount of electricity generation from renewable energy sources.Each state in India has coordinated with the Central Regulator (CERC) to fix a RPO level.
2. Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) –  On January 14, 2010, CERC issued the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission Terms for recognition and issuance of Renewable Energy certificate for Renewable Energy Generation.
3. CDM/Kyoto Protocol – Indian Renewable Energy Plant Operators can also benefit from the CERs issued under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).This improves the project returns and is a form of developed country funds transfer to developing countries in reducing carbon emissions.

Wind Capacity in India ( State Breakdown)

1. Tamil Nadu 4900 MW
2. Maharashtra 2077 MW
3. Gujarat 1863 MW
4. Rajasthan 1088 MW
5. Karnataka 1472 MW
6. Madhya Pradesh 230 MW
7. Total         11800 MW

Note the above capacities are till March 31,2010 and since then the wind capacity has risen by another 1200 MW to reach 13 GW.According to MNRE a total capacity of 13284 MW has been established up to February, 2011, mainly in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan. Wind electric generators of unit sizes between 225 kW and 2.1 MW have been deployed across the country.

Wind Farms in India

Source – Wikipedia

Future Wind Power Plants in India

1. 102.4 MW Sipla Wind Farm will be located at Jaisalmer District (Rajasthan) CLP
2. 50.4 MW Narmada Wind Farm at Nallakonda (Andhra Pradesh),CLP
3. 200 MW Wind Farm in Tamil Nadu by Techno Electric & Engineering Company Ltd (TEECL)
4. Caparo is builing 500 MW Wind Farms in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra,has placed a $1.2 billion order with Suzlon
5. 56-megawatt Tuppadahalli wind farm by Accionia
6. 50MW wind farmAmreli district of Gujarat by Orient Green Power Company
7. 84 MW Wind Farm in Maharashtra by Orient Green Power Company
8. 33 MW wind farm Vellappaneri Wind Farm by Beta Wind Farm  which is a 100 per cent subsidiary Orient Green Power

Wind Turbines in India

Wind Energy Companies in India has been rising though except for Suzlon,no company is world class.Note India has Wind Turbines that are being sold in 225-2000 Kilowatt sizes.Suzlon is also in the process of introducing a 2250 KW Wind Turbine.Note most of the foreign Wind Turbine Producers sell Tubulur Steel Type Turbines while most of the smaller domestic players make Lattice Type Wind Turbines.India’s domestic WTG companies mostly have licensed their Wind Designs from international companies like Vensys,Vestas,American Superconductor and others.Here is a list of Wind Turbines in India.

Offshore Wind in India

Offshore Wind Energy has seen a huge spurt in growth in 2010 as compared to 2009 with the world’s largest offshore wind installation coming online off the coast of Britain.United Kingdom,Germany,South Korea and China have all got ambitious plans to increase offshore wind capacity.Note unlike onshore wind technology,offshore wind technology is still a new technology.The costs of offshore wind are more than double for normal wind turbine and present numerous challenges in reliability,transmission etc.Tamil Nadu,Gujarat and Maharastra are supposed to have good potential for Offshore Wind Energy.Tata Power is looking to setup a Wind Energy Farm off the coast of Gujarat. Suzlon which is the largest Indian Wind Energy Company is also seeking to generate revenues from this new sector.RePower,the German subsidiary of Suzlon has won a major contract to supply 6 MW Turbines to a Belgian Wind Farm in the North Sea.