India - NTPC mulls 650 mw windpower unit

For state-run NTPC, the answer could literally be blowing in the wind. Stung by high fuel costs, the utility is considering producing 650 mw windpower as part of a strategy to add 1,000 mw generating capacity from renewable sources even as it is coughing up $13.14 per mBtu (million British thermal unit) for gas bought from the spot market.

No wonder, the country’s biggest power generation utility has drawn up plans to add 1,000 mw capacity from renewable sources, including 650 mw from wind energy by 2017 as part of its diversification drive. ‘‘In the corporate plan of NTPC, it is envisaged to add a capacity of 1,000 mw through renewable energy sources,’’ power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said.

Of this, 650 mw is to be added through wind energy by 2017, he said, adding NTPC had already signed an MoU with Asian Development Bank for setting up a joint venture company to undertake such projects. "The JV company will be formed among NTPC, ADB and other strategic investors. Some of the strategic investors could be from the private sector."

Shinde said NTPC was in the process of assessing various potential locations for wind farms in association with the Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET), a research and development institution under the ministry of new and renewable energy. He said NTPC had expertise for capacity addition in wind energy and other renewable sectors but to put 50 mw of wind farm on fast-track, NTPC had approached C-WET as consultant.

NTPC’s foray into wind power comes after similar strategies adopted by other energy companies such as ONGC, HPCL, Tata Power, Reliance Energy and BP. India is the world’s fourth largest wind energy producer with an installed capacity of above 7,000 mw, only behind Germany, Spain and the US. NTPC has an installed capacity of more than 27,000 mw entirely on coal or gas, has been looking to diversify into other energy sources and is already working on hydroelectric projects, besides a few small biomass plants.