Impact Of Wind Farms

Impact Of Wind Farms

Subject: Environment

Section: Renewable Energy

Context- Muppandal in Tamil Nadu is home to India’s largest operational onshore wind farm in terms of installed capacity. Over three decades, there are visible social impacts on the people living in the districts of Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari.

Concept-

Wind Power Potential in India:

• The Union government has set an ambitious target of achieving 175 GigaWatt (GW) of installed capacity from renewable energy sources by 2022, which includes 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind power capacity.
• The total renewable power installed capacity in the country stood at about 150 GW presently.
• It is found by the National Institute for Wind Energy (based in Chennai) that western states have larger potential in terms of a stable, steady, and speedy wind flow starting from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Top States in India – Installed Wind Power Capacity

The wind resource is highly site specific and its commercially exploitable potential is available only in seven States i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka. Wind power projects are set up by private developers based on techno-economic viability of the project.

• Tamil Nadu – Tamil Nadu tops the list of states with the largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country. Share of wind power in electricity generation was around 28% in 2018. Total wind capacity at the end of 2018 stood at 8,631 MW while its total installed electricity generation capacity stood at 30,447 MW at the end of 2018.
• Gujarat – Gujarat houses the second-largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country. Share of wind power in electricity generation was around 19% in 2018.
• Maharashtra – Maharashtra houses the third-largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country.
• Karnataka – Karnataka houses the fourth-largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country.
• Rajasthan – Rajasthan houses the fifth-largest installed wind power generation capacity in the country. Wind contributes around 20% of total electricity generated in the state.

Advantages of Wind Park or Wind Farms:

• Renewable– meaning that the source of energy is not depleted when it is used. So, as we use wind energy we don’t decrease the amount of wind available; whereas in the case of fossil fuels, it leads to depletion of resources.
• Low-cost energy – Although wind turbines have high upfront costs, the energy they produce is cheap.
• Clean energy – Generating energy using wind turbines does not emit any greenhouse gases.
• Employment generation due to setting up of wind farms.

Disadvantages of Wind Park or Wind Farms:

• Shrinking of Agricultural Land: Wind Parks need to be spread over more land than other power stations and need to be built in wild and rural areas, which can lead to industrialization of the countryside. This can lead to threat of food security.
• The turbines and the crops don’t set. The natural wind is different. The quality of the vegetables grown has been affected because of the turbine. It hasn’t improved agriculture exactly
• Onshore wind is an intermittent source of energy, as turbines cannot generate electricity on demand, but only when the wind is blowing, and at sufficient strength.
• When wind strength is insufficient for turbines to operate, the fossil-fuel-based power supply is needed as a backup, which can temporarily increase greenhouse gas emissions.
• Noise Pollution: As per some research, people who live or work in close proximity have experienced symptoms that include decreased quality of life, annoyance, stress, sleep disturbance, headache, anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction. However, many researchers have differing opinions.

The Government has taken several steps to promote renewable energy, including wind energy, in the country. These include:

• Permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route,
• Waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025,
• Declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2022,
• Setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play basis,
• Laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity for evacuation of renewable power,
• Setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments,
• Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects.
• Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators.
• Conducting skill development programmes to create a pool of skilled manpower for implementation, operation and maintenance of RE projects.
• In addition to the above, the following steps have been taken specifically for promoting wind energy:
• Concessional custom duty exemption on certain components required for manufacturing of wind electric generators.
• Generation Based Incentive (GBI) is being provided to the wind projects commissioned on or before 31 March 2017.
• Technical support including wind resource assessment and identification of potential sites through the National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai