Pilot project on wind energy to be launched in TN

Five overseas firms shortlisted.

The Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) is planning to run a pilot project on wind energy in Tamil Nadu and has shortlisted four foreign firms in this regard.

The focus of the project would be to demonstrate that wind energy can be forecastable with a certain level of accuracy — of around 60-70 per cent, said DV Giri, chairman, IWTMA.

“Currently we are not talking about any accuracy” he said, adding one of the major obstacles that has prevented more widespread use of wind energy “is the difficulty in predicting when and how strongly the wind will blow at the wind farms.”

According to Giri, TN generates 50 per cent of the wind energy in the country and has huge potential to generate more due to availability of wind, the primary reason behind choosing the state for taking up the pilot project. Despite favouring conditions, the state buys power from outside at high cost.

The association is planning to run the project, expected to commence by September 2009, for one full wind season.

The shortlisted companies include Spain-based 3TIER, UK-based Garrad Hassan, US-based AWS Truewind and Denmark-based Risoe. The association will finalise one of these soon.

Wind is difficult to forecast as it is affected by factors such as topography, ground cover and temperature inversions. The forecasts will help operators make critical decisions about powering down coal-fired and natural gas-fired plants when sufficient winds are predicted to generate the required amount of electricity.