India: Govt. Issues Draft Norms for Development of Onshore Wind Power Projects

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has come out with draft guidelines for development of onshore wind power projects aimed at accelerating the growth of the wind power sector in the context of new technology and emerging regulations.

The document, which seeks suggestions and comments from all stake-holders by May 27, points out that there is a need for comprehensive guidelines for development of onshore wind power projects in the country due to advancement in wind turbine technology and requirement to comply with various standards and regulations issued by various regulatory bodies.

Most of the wind power development in India took place over the last 20 years and during this period the wind turbine technology has evolved from low-capacity, less-efficient turbines of 225-kW to high-capacity, more-efficient turbines of 3-MW manufactured in India. With the government guidelines issued from time to time, the wind power sector’s installed capacity reached 26.8-GW by the end of FY2016 and now, India is globally placed at the fourth position in terms of installed capacity.

However, wind being intermittent in nature, the large-scale deployment of wind power has posed challenges to grid integration. Regulatory authorities have tightened regulation for grid integration of wind turbines. Further, the government has set an ambitious target of 60-GW of wind power installed capacity in the country by 2022. To achieve the target, the current rate of deployment of wind power capacity is required to be more than doubled. The wind energy potential in the country is estimated at 302-GW (at 100 meters above ground level), according to the National Institute of Wind Energy.