CHENNAI: Center for Science and Environment (CSE) released a fresh report titled ‘Accelerating Wind Repowering in Tamil Nadu at a meeting on Thursday, saying, “Tamil Nadu’s wind repowering policy needs to be improved for maximising the state’s wind energy capacity.”
The report emphasised shortcomings of the recent wind repowering policy, particularly its failure to address the need for improved power evacuation infrastructure. It called for upgrading the existing 11-kV power lines, which are insufficient and often unstable, to at least 33 kV for better power evacuation from upgraded turbines.
Wind energy producers from different parts of the state attended the meeting and discussed topics such as marketing strategies, updated turbines, new technologies, banking facilities and power evacuation infrastructure.
CSE’s programme director Nivit K Yadav said, “Wind power contributes nearly 30% of Tamil Nadu’s total installed capacity, but outdated turbines have reduced wind energy’s share to just 15% of the state’s power generation. This is the right time to replace these old turbines with newer technologies.”
Several developers voiced concern about the policy, stating that wind energy, with a capacity of 10,700 MW as of June 2024, remains the backbone of Tamil Nadu’s renewable power. However, the current policy does not encourage upgrading aging turbines due to significant infrastructure gaps in handling increased power output after repowering.
Developers also pointed out the high costs involved. Despite paying Rs 30 lakh per MW for infrastructure development, they face additional expenses for upgrading substations and arranging power evacuation.
They expressed frustration over the state’s Rs 50 lakh per MW resource charge on central transmission utility wind projects which discourages connecting to the central grid, pushing developers toward the state grid.The panel also discussed banking challenges, stating that under the current policy, wind energy generators are charged 14% for banking wind power.
Additionally, the policy restricts new projects and limits usage to non-peak hours, leaving developers uncertain about how to manage excess generation.
The country’s overall potential for wind farm repowering is 25,400 MW with Tamil Nadu alone contributing 7,300 MW. The CSE’s economic analysis reveals that repowering wind farms in Tamil Nadu would require an additional Rs 6,336 crore to bridge the cost gap between repowering and new green field projects.
CSE’s director Yadav said, “This investment is critical for making repowering economically viable.”
Wind energy producers discuss strategies, issues
Wind energy producers from different parts of the state attended a meeting and discussed marketing strategies, updated turbines, new technologies, banking facilities and power evacuation.