India - Update on wind energy progress in Gujarat

Project monitor reported that the west coast state of Gujarat, which has the highest wind power potential in the country, is finally making its presence felt on the wind energy map.

The state added as much as 616 MW new capacity during the financial year 2007-08, the highest by any state in that year. In fact, Gujarat accounted for 38% of India's total wind power capacity addition of 1,636 MW.

Mr SB Patil senior official of Gujarat Energy Development Agency said that wind energy in Gujarat was targeted to grow by 35% in coming years. Gujarat's gross wind power potential is estimated at nearly 10,000 MW that represents over a 5th of India's total.

Mr Patil said that most of the new capacity in 2007-08 was added in the last quarter when over 400 MW came on stream. DLF's 150 MW wind farm in Kutch region of Gujarat was the single biggest project to commission. He said that it is also Gujarat's largest wind farm so far. The Geda official said that comprising 100 turbines of 1.5 MW each, the project was constructed by Suzlon Energy through a turnkey contract placed in October last year. Hindustan Zinc Limited also commissioned a wind power project of over 50 MW in Gujarat's Jamnagar district.

With more private wind farms under construction, Gujarat aspires to add another 600 MW capacity in the current year also. For the 11th Plan period, the western state aspires to add 4,000 MW new capacity which will make it the most eventful episode in its renewable energy sector. India has targeted to add 10,500 MW of new wind power capacity in the 11th Plan implying that Gujarat is poised to play a dominant role.

Mr Patil said that thanks to the encouraging performance in 2007-08 Gujarat's total wind power capacity as of March 2008 stood at around 1,240 MW. With this, Gujarat's ranking has improved to third after Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. In December 2007, Gujarat ranked fourth after Karnataka.