US manufacturers cut down on production.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: In light of a potential tax break that’s causing US wind turbine developers to temporarily halt production until 2015, India may surpass the thus-far world leader in annual wind turbine energy for the first time ever in 2013.
The pause in US wind energy production is expected to decline as much as 85% until 2015. Other countries around the world are also expected to temporarily slow their spending on wind energy for various reasons, but India is insistent on pressing forward.
Just last week, it was announced by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) that they would launch a National Offshore Wind energy Authority (NOWA) to handle offshore wind energy projects in India. Indian energy giants like Tata Power and Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) have repeatedly expressed a serious interest in developing wind-based technology.
These announcements come on the heels of the MNRE announcing that India’s new wind capacity has fallen 61% in the past two months, with only about 150 MW added in May and July (nothing was added in June).
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is looking to adopt wind energy as its main source of power after incurring power costs of over 150 crore annually in recent years. Plus, the creation of new wind turbines – and the plants to harness and transmit that power – could create roughly 2.4 million by 2010, which would bolster India’s recently stumbling economy, says a report by the Global Wind Energy Council and European Renewable Energy Council released last year.
Rising demand for wind energy – seen by many as the cheapest and most environmentally friendly means of generating power, especially for a country as densely populated as India – has spurred the installation of just under 20,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power to date. Ten of India’s biggest energy developing companies have plans to add a total of 15,000 MW in the next decade.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com