The Hindu Business Line : TNEB sets up task force on evacuation of wind power

GOING GREEN: Mr Arcot N. Veerasami, Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity and Rural Industries, with Mr Hans Raj Verma, Chairman, TNEB, Mr Ramesh Kymal, Chairman, Green Power 2006 and Chairman, Renewable Energy Council, and Mr K.E. Raghunathan, Chairman, Subgroup on Solar Thermal Renewable Energy Council, at a meet in Chennai on Friday. — R. Shivaji Rao

Chennai , July 14

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has constituted a task force to study the problem of evacuating power from wind electric generators.

The task force includes representatives from the industry and it has been asked to submit its report in three months, according to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister, Mr Arcot N. Veeraswami.

Grid problems

The wind power industry in the State has complained that the wind turbines are asked to be backed down because of grid problems, especially at a time when the wind velocity is at its highest. Even last week, representatives from the wind power industry - those who have invested in wind mills and turbine manufacturers - met the officials of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and discussed the grid problem.

Minister assurance

Participating in a special plenary session on Friday on `Tamil Nadu - A success story in promoting renewable energy' at Green Power 2006, a seminar and exposition on renewable energy, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr Veeraswami assured the industry that the Government would take all steps to encourage the sector.

He invited entrepreneurs from the non-conventional energy sector to come forward and invest in the State.

Mr Hans Raj Verma, Chairman, TNEB, said that there were no instructions from the board to back down wind power.

Plans to overcome crisis

However, there were certain technical issues due to which wind turbines had to be shut down. The electricity board was working to overcome this problem, including trying to sell surplus power during the off-peak period.

He said that the power requirement in the case of the TNEB peaked at around 7 p.m., when the demand went up to 8,500 MW. This dropped to about 6,500 MW by midnight. Between midnight and 5 a.m., there was a surplus power that could be sold. The TNEB was trying to sell this surplus power through authorised power traders through long-term agreements to those States that were in need of power at night.

Scope for improvement

However, inter-State grid connection had to be improved to facilitate this. The TNEB was also taking steps to improve the infrastructure in the Tirunelveli and Coimbatore regions, both areas of wind power generation.

The Chairman said that States such as Andhra Pradesh would overdraw power when the frequency in the grid crossed 50.5 cycles, which would result in a loss to the TNEB.

Mr Veeraswami said the private sector was expected to commission another 500 MW of wind power by the end of this financial year in Tamil Nadu. The installed wind power capacity now was 2,946 MW. The co-generation capacity by sugar mills was also expected to go up with permission being given to three sugar mills to add 53 MW of capacity. The State was encouraging solar, bio-mass and power from municipal solid waste.

Mr Ramesh Kymal, Chairman, Green Power 2006 and Chairman, Renewable Energy Council CII-Godrej Green Business Council, suggested that Tamil Nadu create a green development fund, which could be used to create evacuation infrastructure.

He highlighted the problems of evacuating power when the wind velocity at its highest and also wanted a separate pricing policy for the State for wind power.

Mr K.E. Raghunathan, Chairman - subgroup on Solar Thermal Renewable Energy Council, CII-GBC, hoped that the Tamil Nadu Government would take steps to ensure that the proposed special economic zone for the renewable energy sector came up in the State.

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