The Hindu Business Line : NEG Micon unveils `largest' wind turbine

A view of the 1.65 MW Wind Turbine installed by NEG Micon India Pvt Ltd, at Kongalnagaram, near Coimbatore with a transformer in the foreground. - N. Ramakrishnan

Chennai , April 20

FROM a distance, a number of wind turbines are visible, their blades rotating at a rhythmic speed. The afternoon is hot. The Toyota Qualis swerves off the asphalted road on to a mud track. The drive for the next few minutes is bumpy.

On either side, the land is dry and barren, windmills breaking the monotony. And, standing out among the crop of windmills is one taller than the others and the span of whose blade is also wider.

At the base of the turbine - NM 82/1650 in the manufacturer's parlance - is a small crowd of company officials, some customers and a few journalists as NEG Micon (India) Pvt Ltd proudly unveiled what it describes as the largest wind turbine in the country, last week.

A few technicians are at work to restart the turbine. The sun beats down mercilessly even as a strong and steady wind blows across the land. Company officials tell you that wind speed could be about 8 to 10 metres per second.

The turbine's hub is 78 metres high and the blade diameter is 82 metres. It has a capacity of 1.65 MW. A grove of young coconut trees provides a green backdrop to this turbine.

The place is Kongalnagaram, about 60 km from Coimbatore.

NEG Micon (India) believes that this turbine is ideal for low and medium wind speed conditions and hopes to sell at least 60 of these during the year. Smaller turbines of 750 kW and 950 kW capacities are suited for higher wind speeds, but land for erecting these turbines is in short supply. Hence, NEG Micon (India) decided to bring in the higher capacity turbine from its parent NEG Micon, Denmark.

NEG Micon (India) has erected about 40 turbines of 750 kW capacity in Kongalnagaram.

Wind turbines can only be erected in areas where the wind speed is good, which means there are two belts in Tamil Nadu where the turbines can be installed. Therefore, choosing a site for a turbine is in itself an elaborate process.

First, the terrain is surveyed and then wind speeds studied for at least a year and data recorded to get average wind speeds, before the wind research team in NEG Micon (India), as also other turbine manufacturers, approve the site and inform the marketing team in the company.

It is then the task of the marketing team to convince the company's clients that the site is suitable for erecting windmills.

According to NEG Micon (India) officials, land is becoming scarce in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli areas for erecting windmills and, hence, manufacturers are scouting for other locations.

At present, only NEG Micon has put up windmills in Kongalnagaram, but it is just a matter of time before others move in, they say.

Even in Kongalnagaram, land cost has gone up from about Rs 2 lakh to about Rs 5 lakh - Rs 6 lakh now.

Instead of buying an entire tract of land, NEG Micon buys just the footprint, or what is called a "point" in industry parlance, for the land and access to the turbine. A point is about two acres of land, including the access.

The advantage of the 1650 kW turbine is that it can operate at low and medium wind speeds and can generate full output at a speed of 13-14 metres per second.

Beyond that, the blades will deflect the wind and once the wind speed exceeds 20 metres per second, the turbine will stop functioning.

The 1650 kW turbine can generate up to 55 lakh units a year against 20-22 lakh units of the 750 kW turbine, according to the officials.

According to Mr Ramesh Kymal, Managing Director, NEG Micon (India), the perception of a wind turbine has changed from that of a mere tax saving device to a cost-cutting equipment to a power station.

The 1650 kW turbine offers a higher plant load factor - 40 per cent to 43 per cent against 33 per cent for the smaller turbines.

The cost per unit of electricity works out to Rs 1.10 over the 20-year life of the turbine, a reduction of at least 10 paise per unit.

A number of textile mills have installed wind turbines and they are dependent on these turbines for a bulk of their power requirement.

For NEG Micon, textile mills accounted for 135.15 MW of the total 283.4 MW capacity installed during 2003-04.

NEG Micon has launched a Web site where its clients, who will be given user names and secure passwords, can access details of the wind turbine's performance.

The company has also provided a centralised monitoring facility of the performance of all turbines installed by it.

More Stories on : New Products & Services | Non-conventional Energy

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Wockhardt sets up marketing arm in US

Pepsi peps up Dukes Lemonade ad campaign

GKB Lens plans to scale up retail outlets

O&M study urges brands to support modern moms

Michelin Apollo launches truck, bus radials

ITC launches Sunfeast biscuits in Chennai

NEG Micon unveils `largest' wind turbine

New Euro inner wear range