Chapter-1

WIND ENERGY

The earth's surface has both land and water. When the sun comes up, the air over the land heats up
quicker than that over water. The heated air is lighter and it rises. The cooler air is denser and it falls
and replaced the air over the land. In the night the reverse happens. Air over the water is warmer and
rises, and is replaced by cooler air from land.


The moving air (wind) has huge amounts of kinetic energy, and this can be transferred into electrical
energy using wind turbines. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a
generator and makes electricity. The electricity is sent through transmission and distribution lines to a
substation, then on to homes, business and schools.
Wind turbines cannot work if there is no wind, or if the wind speed is so high it would damage them.
Technology
The range of wind speeds that are usable by a particular wind turbine for electricity generation is
called productive wind speed. The power available from wind is proportional to cube of the wind's
speed. So as the speed of the wind falls, the amount of energy that can be got from it falls very
rapidly. On the other hand, as the wind speed rises, so the amount of energy in it rises very rapidly;
very high wind speeds can overload a turbine. Productive wind speeds will range between 4 m/sec to
35 m/sec. The minimum prescribed speed for optimal performance of large scale wind farms is about
6 m/s. Wind power potential is mostly assessed assuming 1% of land availability for wind farms
required @12 ha/MW in sites having wind power density exceeding 200 W/sq. m. at 50 m hub-height.
The energy in the wind turns two or three propeller-like blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected
to the main shaft, which spins a generator to create electricity. Wind turbines are mounted on a tower
to capture the most energy. At 100 feet (30 meters) or more above ground, they can take advantage of
faster and less turbulent wind. Wind turbines can be used to produce electricity for a single home or
building, or they can be connected to an electricity grid for more widespread electricity distribution.
Furthermore projects are going on exploring in Research Design and Development to achieve
following goals:
Continue cost reduction: improved site assessment, better modelling for aerodynamics,
intelligent/recyclable materials, stand-alone and hybrid systems.
Increase value and reduce uncertainties: forecasting power performance, improving standards and
engineering integrity and storage techniques.
Enable large-scale use: Load flow control and adaptive power quality Minimize environmental
impacts: Noise impacts, Flora and Fauna, utilization of land resources and aesthetics integration.The
policy initiatives gave the private sector a good incentive to set up wind projects. The major fiscal
incentives provided were:
100% accelerated depreciation on investment on capital equipment in the first year of
installation.
Five-year tax exemption on income from sale of power generated by wind energy.
Mandatory purchase of electricity by the states Electricity Boards at specified tariff rates.
Industry status given to SMEs and large-scale producers of wind equipment, enabling them to
benefit from
Tax holidays, relief from customs and excise duty, and liberalised foreign investment norms.
Some states allowed third-party sales of power generation from wind projects.
Banking and wheeling facility.
CURRENT INSTALLED CAPACITY IN INDIA
Source: C-wet website
State
Andhra
Pradesh
Gujara
t
Karnataka Kerala
Madhya
Pradesh
Mahar
ashtra
Rajasthan
Tamil
Nadu
West
Bengal
Others Total
Up to
March'2002
93.2 181.4 69.3 2.0 23.2 400.3 16.1 877.0 1.1 3.2 1666.8
2002-03 0.0 6.2 55.6 0.0 0.0 2.0 44.6 133.6 0.0 0.0 242.0
2003-04 6.2 28.9 84.9 0.0 0.0 6.2 117.8 371.2 0.0 0.0 615.2
2004-05 21.8 51.5 201.5 0.0 6.3 48.8 106.3 675.5 0.0 0.0 1111.7
2005-06 0.45 84.60 143.80 0.0 11.40 545.10 73.27 857.55 0.0 0.0 1716.17
2006-07 0.80 283.95 265.95 0.0 16.40 485.30 111.90 577.90 0.0 0.0 1742.05
2007-08 0.0 616.36 190.30 8.50 130.39 268.15 68.95 380.67 0.0 0.0 1663.32
2008-09 0.0 313.6 316.0 16.5 25.1 183.0 199.6 431.1 0.0 0.0 1484.9
2009-10 13.6 197.1 145.4 0.8 16.6 138.9 350.0 602.2 0.0 0.0 1564.6
2010-11 55.4 312.8 254.1 7.4 46.5 239.1 436.7 997.4 0.0 0.0 2349.2
2011-12 54.1 789.9 206.7 0.0 100.5 416.5 545.7 1083.5 0.0 0.0 3196.7
2012-2013 202.10 208.30 201.70 0.0 9.60 288.50 614.00 174.60 0.0 0.0 1698.8
2013-2014 753 3414 2409 55 439 4098 2820 7276 0.0 0.0 21264
Wind Energy Benefits
1. Wind energy is cost competitive with other fuel sources.
Power purchase agreements are now being signed in the range of 5 to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour, a
price that is competitive with new gas-fired power plants. Researchers expect continued cost
reductions as the technology improves and the market develops.
2. Wind energy creates jobs
Wind energy development creates thousands of long-term, high-paying jobs in fields such as wind
turbine component manufacturing, construction and installation, maintenance and operations, legal
and marketing services, transportation and logistical services, and more. In 2010, the wind sector
invested $10 billion in the U.S. economy and employed 75,000 workers. In the same year, 31
manufacturing facilities opened or were announced. According to the American Wind Energy
Association, employment in the wind industrys manufacturing sector has increased from 2,500 jobs
in 2004 to 20,000 in 2010, with an estimated additional 14,000 manufacturing jobs planned.
3. Wind energy is an indigenous, home grown energy source that helps to diversify the national
energy portfolio.
The United States is the worlds largest importer of oil and natural gas.Our reliance on imports
threatens our national economic security. Adding wind power to the energy mix diversifies the
national energy portfolio and reduces Americas reliance on imported fossil fuels. In addition to
bolstering the security of our national energy supply, wind energy stabilizes the cost of electricity and
reduces vulnerability to price spikes and supply disruptions. With the expanded use of electric and
plug-in hybrid vehicles, wind energy can also reduce our dependence on imported transportation
fuels.
4. Wind energy can provide income for rural farmers and ranchers, as well as economic benefits
to depressed rural areas
Wind projects provide revenue to the communities in which they are located via lease payments to
landowners, state and tax revenues, and job creation. Even a utility-scale wind turbine has a small
footprint, enabling farmers and ranchers who lease their land to developers to continue growing crops
and grazing livestock. Achieving 20% wind energy by 2030 would provide significant economic
benefits, including more than $8.8 billion in estimated property taxes and land lease payments
between 2007 and 2030.Rather than paying for energy imported from other states, this money stays in
the community.
5. Wind energy is an inexhaustible renewable energy source.
Wind energy is plentiful and readily available, and capturing its power does not deplete our natural
resources. The Great Plains and offshore areas have tremendous untapped wind energy potential.
6. Wind turbines do not consume water.
Most electric power plants require water to operate, and water use in drought-stricken areas like the
western United States is a significant issue. Producing electricity from the wind does not require
water. Achieving 20% wind energy by 2030 scenario would reduce cumulative water use in the
electric sector by 8%, or 4 trillion gallons.
7. Wind energy is clean
Electricity generated by wind turbines does not pollute the water we drink or the air we breathe, so
wind energy means less smog, less acid rain, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. A single 1-
megawatt wind turbine can displace 1,800 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 1 year (equivalent to
planting 1 square mile of forest).Achieving 20% wind energy by 2030 would provide significant
environmental benefits, such as avoiding approximately 825 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in
the electric sector. Because it is a clean energy source, wind energy reduces health care and
environmental costs associated with air pollution.
8. Wind energy systems have low operating costs.
Wind energy systems have low operating expenses because they have no fuel cost. When large
amounts of wind energy are added to the grid, additional generation may be required to accommodate
wind energys variability, but the Utility.

Limitations
1. Wind machines must be located where strong, dependable winds are available most of the time.
2. Because winds do not blow strongly enough to produce power all the time, energy from wind
machines is considered "intermittent," that is, it comes and goes. Therefore, electricity from wind
machines must have a back-up supply from another source.
3. As wind power is "intermittent," utility companies can use it for only part of their total energy
needs.
4. Wind towers and turbine blades are subject to damage from high winds and lighting. Rotating parts,
which are located high off the ground can be difficult and expensive to repair.
5. Electricity produced by wind power sometimes fluctuates in voltage and power factor, which can
cause difficulties in linking its power to a utility system.
6. The noise made by rotating wind machine blades can be annoying to nearby neighbours.
Similar exercise without any validation has been carried out for 80 m level with the KAMM generated
meso scale map and the results are calculated and given in an attached table. The estimated
installable potential at 80 m level is found to be 102788 MW (See the Table.1.).
Estimation of installable wind power potential at 80 m level:
States / UTs
Estimated potential (MW)
@ 50 m ($) @ 80 m (* #$)
Andaman & Nicobar 2 365
Andhra Pradesh 5394 14497
Arunachal Pradesh* 201 236
Assam* 53 112
Bihar - 144
Chhattisgarh* 23 314
Daman Diu - 4
Gujarat 10609 35071
Haryana - 93
Himachal Pradesh * 20 64
Jharkhand - 91
Jammu & Kashmir * 5311 5685
Karnataka 8591 13593
Kerala 790 837
Lakshadweep 16 16
Madhya Pradesh 920 2931
Maharashtra 5439 5961
Manipur* 7 56
Meghalaya * 44 82
Nagaland * 3 16
Orissa 910 1384
Pondicherry - 120
Rajasthan 5005 5050
Sikkim * 98 98
Tamil Nadu 5374 14152
Uttarakhand * 161 534
Uttar Pradesh * 137 1260
West Bengal* 22 22
Total 49130 102788

* Wind potential has yet to be validated with actual measurements.
# Estimation is based on meso scale modelling (I ndian Wind Atlas).
$ As actual land assessment is not done on a conservative consideration 2 % land availability for all states except
Himalayan & North eastern states, Andaman Nicobar I slands and Poor windy states has been assumed. I n other area
0.5% land availability has been assumed.