NTPC to power up wind energy plans
THE HINDU, Aug 23, 2009
Anil Sasi

New Delhi, Aug. 22 Amid increasing challenges on the fuel front, NTPC is fast-tracking plans on diversifying its fuel mix, with wind power a key thrust area in the renewables space.

The thermal power major is working on plans to begin rolling out a cumulative 1,000 MW of greenfield wind power installations across Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh over the next few years, company officials said.

The company’s first wind project is expected to come up in Karnataka, with wind farms totalling 500 MW at half a dozen locations in the State. While the state-owned utility is in advanced stages of finalising the Detailed Project Reports for the projects in Karnataka, it is also assessing the techno-commercial viability of the other identified projects. India’s total installed wind generation capacity was 9,645 MW at end-March 2009.

NTPC has already signed an MoU with the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL) for setting up the 500-MW wind power capacity, under which KPCL will provide the land while NTPC will set up and operate the wind farms. The total investment in the Karnataka venture is estimated at around Rs 2,500 crore.

“The move to focus on green projects is a response to increasing environmental consciousness… We envisage increasing pressure on thermal utilities across the world to prove their commitment to the global climate change agenda,” an official said.

At present, around 78 per cent of NTPC’s installed capacity of 30,644 MW is coal-fired, while much of the remaining capacity is based on natural gas.

NTPC’s plan to enter the wind generation business comes at a time when India has been slipping on the wind-based capacity addition front. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, a global body for the wind energy sector, India added 1,800 MW during the last year, taking its total installed wind generation capacity to 9,645 MW.

China, in comparison, added a whopping 6,300 MW, second only to the US in terms of new additions, taking its capacity at the end of the year to 12,210 MW.

The US, with 8,358 MW added during the year, overtook Germany to take the lead in terms of total wind energy installed capacity.