Apr-Jun 2012 wind power installations in India halve Y/Y - report

Jul 19, 2012 - India added only 207.15 MW of wind power capacity between April and June 2012, nearly half of the 394.63 MW installed in the same three months of last year, The Hindu Business Line said Tuesday.

The fall is attributed to the expiration of the accelerated depreciation incentive scheme, delayed payments for the produced electricity and grid capacity limitations, the report said.

The country's windiest state -- Tamil Nadu -- saw quarterly wind power installations plunge to 84.7 MW from 180.08 MW a year back. Sector firms in the state are being tortured by irregular payments for the sold power output and declining regulatory support. The state utility Tangedco is currently struggling to end a subsidy scheme known as the "banking facility". That scheme allows wind farm operators to "bank" any extra power produced and draw it back from the grid when needed, paying only wheeling and transmission charges to Tangedco. That scheme is usually used by companies that are also involved in other industries.

Wind power capacity additions in India's Rajasthan state fell to 4.25 MW from 95.1 MW, while in Gujarat they dropped to 40 MW from 83 MW, Business Line said. There were several states which installed more wind than a year earlier -- Karnataka added 21 MW, compared to 800 kW; Maharashtra installed 39.1 MW, up from 28.95 MW; and Andhra Pradesh saw wind installations rise to 18.1 MW from 6.7 MW.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!