CHENNAI: With the draft national repowering policy, wind power producers have requested the State and Union governments to extend financial support by arranging bank loans for small entities in the industry.
Coimbatore-based wind power producer R Vasudevan told TNIE the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued the revised draft national repowering policy for wind projects on October 17 and provided a timeline for comments till November 1.
“Wind turbines that have reached the end of their design life or are approaching it must be repowered under the policy. Though this is a welcome step, thousands of wind power companies in India will be affected due to the financial implications. Thousands of small wind power companies have existed for decades, each with a capacity of 2 MW in the State,” he said.
Vasudevan added that an investment of at least Rs 10 crore is needed to repower these small entities. Since this is unaffordable, the government should provide subsidies and arrange bank loans for small units, he explained.
Another wind power generator, R Sasikumar, of Tirunelveli, added that upon implementation of the draft policy, 30-50% of small wind companies may have to stop operating, and most employees in the industry will lose their jobs.
He said consumers who generate power for their own use (industrial purposes) would be able to adopt the draft policy. Before implementing the policy, the Centre must understand the ground reality, he added.
A senior Tangedco official told TNIE the process to repower wind turbines with a combined capacity of 16 MW owned by the power utility has begun, and private companies can approach the government with their demands.
Why should turbines be repowered?
Old wind turbines are inefficient compared to ones that use new technology, and have lower hub heights (30- 60 m, compared to 120-140 m). Turbines with lower hub heights are unable to harness higher wind speeds.
