Gujarat adjudged best wind power developer state in India

Gujarat has been conferred the ‘Best Wind Power Developer State in India’ award by the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE), Pune for registering maximum increase in installed Wind Energy Power generation during 2007-08. Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA), the nodal agency of the Government of Gujarat for promotion and popularisation of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, said that the state has added 616 MW in wind energy generation in the above mentioned period. This is far greater than Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra who have added 380 and 260 MW of wind power generation capacity respectively.

GEDA said that the wind energy installed capacity in Gujarat in 2004-05 was only 51 MW. But with the announcement of Wind Power Policy on June 13, 2007 to promote clean and green energy, the capacity was increased to 1252.9 MW as the per March 2008 figures. “The state has witnessed a phenomenal increase of more than 500 per cent in wind power generation, indicating the success of state’s wind policy,” said a senior GEDA official.

The Wind Power Policy – 2007 of Gujarat includes incentives for Wind Turbine Generators for a period of 20 years; provision for wheeling electricity at 4 per cent charge; provision to sell power to any entity at higher prices i.e. third party sale; exemption from electricity duty and demand cut to the extent of 30 per cent; and raising the rate of sale of power to Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) to Rs 3.37 per unit. Even in the current economic meltdown, GEDA is aiming to add another 500 MW to the installed capacity, the senior official added.

The west coast of Gujarat has the highest potential of wind power generation in the country. Its gross Wind Power potential is estimated at nearly 10,000 MW, representing over a fifth of India’s total. Today, Gujarat stands third after Tamil Nadu (around 3,800 MW) and Maharashtra (1,750 MW) in wind energy generation.