The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has come out with draft guidelines for the development of onshore wind power projects, aimed at accelerating the growth of wind power sector in the context of new technology and emerging regulations.

The document, which seeks suggestions and comments from all stakeholders by May 27, points out that the objective of new norms is to facilitate the development of wind power projects in an efficient, cost-effective and environmentally benign manner taking into account the requirements of project developers, state and national imperatives.

Wind power development

Most of the wind power development in India took place over the last 20 years and during this period, the wind turbine technology has evolved from low-capacity less-efficient turbines of 225 kW to high-capacity more efficient turbines of 3 MW being manufactured in India.

With the government guidelines issued from time to time, wind power sector’s installed capacity reached 26.8 GW by the end of FY 2016 and now, India is globally placed at 4th position in terms of wind power installed capacity.

However, wind being intermittent in nature, large-scale deployment of wind power has posed challenges on grid integration. Regulatory authorities have tightened the regulation for grid integration of wind turbines.

Further, the Government has set a target of reaching 60 GW of wind power installed capacity in the country by 2022. To achieve the target, the current rate of deployment of wind power capacity is required to be more than doubled.

With advancement in wind turbine technology and requirement to comply with various standards and regulations issued by CERC, CEA and other regulatory bodies, it is felt to issue comprehensive guidelines for the development of onshore wind power projects in the country.

Accordingly, draft guidelines for the development of onshore wind power projects have been prepared and loaded on the MNRE website for comments, the document said.

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