Govt comes out with draft policy for wind power projects

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 7

The government today came out with the draft policy for repowering of the wind power projects to optimally utilise the wind energy resources and increase the power generation through this resource.

Putting up the draft policy for stakeholders’ comments, the government said the objective of the Repowering Policy is to promote optimum utilisation of wind energy resources by creating facilitative framework for repowering.

Wind turbine generators of capacity 1 MW and below would be eligible for repowering under the policy and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will provide an additional interest rate rebate of 0.25% over and above the interest rate rebates available to the new wind projects being financed by the IREDA.

Benefits available to the new wind projects i.e. Accelerated Depreciation or GBI as per applicable conditions would also be available to the repowering projects.

Major share of renewable power capacity in India is from wind energy and India started harnessing the wind power prior to 1990.

The present installed capacity is over 25 GW which is the fourth largest in the world after China, the USA and Germany. Most of the wind turbines installed up to the year 2000 are of capacity below 500 KW and are at sites having high wind energy potential.

It is estimated that over 3,000-MW capacity installation is from wind turbines of 500 KW or below.

The repowering projects would be implemented through the respective state nodal agency/organisation involved in promotion of wind energy in the state.