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India is the world's fourth largest wind-power
market and the fifth largest wind power producer in the world after Germany, the
USA, Denmark and the UK, with a wind power generation capacity of 1,267 MW, of which 1,210 MW has come through commercial projects.
The wind energy potential in India has been estimated at 45,000 MW.
India is also one of the world's biggest wind power users. Years of tax incentives have helped make India one of the fastest-growing
markets for wind power, a major component of renewable energy.
Wind is one of the largest RE source in the country, based on mean annual wind power density
(MAWPD). The Wind Resource Assessment Programme (WRAP) carried out in India to reassess the wind potential was one of the largest programmes of this kind in the world covering around 900 wind monitoring and mapping stations in 24 states and union territories. This programme is being implemented by the state nodal agencies (SNAs) and C-WET through the Wind Energy Survey Project. WRAP has so far identified 192 potential sites in 13 states.States with high wind power potential are Tamil
Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra.
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India, with its thousands of miles of coastline, is suited to wind power. Its
wind power potential is estimated at 45,000 megawatts (MW), about a third of
total energy consumption.
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About 6.5 billion units of electricity have been fed to various state grids from wind power projects. Almost 80% of the power thus generated has been used for captive consumption, and the rest sold to the grid or to a third party.
Some 26 project sites have been developed in the high potential states under the Demonstration
Programme, resulting in a capacity of 57 MW. At least 15 domestic companies are manufacturing wind power turbines and components, either in joint venture or license production from international collaborators, achieving an annual turnover of Rs 1,500
crore. Wind electric generators ranging from 55 to 750 kW rating have been developed and manufactured in the country by using the latest technologies.
State-of-the-art wind power technologies are now indigenously available in India. An annual production capacity of 500 MW has been established. Wind electric generators up to 750 kW unit capacity are now being
manufactured. Blades, a crucial component of wind turbines, is manufactured in India. Nearly 80 per cent indigenisation has been achieved -R&D activities have been undertaken through research institutions, laboratories, technical
centres.
India is heading toward
wind superpower
India's rise to what supporters call a "wind superpower" is due to tax breaks in
the 1990s and to Tulsi Tanti, chairman of Suzlon Energy, India's biggest wind
energy company. Troubled by power shortages in the 1990s for his textile business in western
India, he bought some wind turbines and soon realised it could be a good
business. His company quickly became the pioneer in the sector. At Vestas RBB India Ltd, one of India's largest wind-power firms, sales rose 30
percent in 2006 and the company forecasts growth of about 40 percent this year,
company officials say.
"Wind energy is almost price competitive in many places," T.L. Sankar, senior
energy adviser at the Administrative Staff College of India, told a renewable
energy conference.
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