Re-Powering Wind Energy in Tamil Nadu

The renewable energy sector has largely helped shape the clean energy transition in our country. Within it, the contribution of wind energy is substantial – close to 38 GW of installed capacity in July 2020.

Here is the full recording of the Webinar:

The sector has moved from the Feed in Tariff (FIT) model to a competitive bidding scenario, and future additions are likely to be a combination of re-powering existing low capacity installations and new installations.

The wind turbines installed in Tamil Nadu before 2000 are generally below 600 kW in capacity and most of the turbines have reached the end of their life span. Technological innovation and favourable policies are expected to enable new wind turbines to capture more energy at the repowering site. In recent years, repowering has picked up globally. In 2018, 1.3 GW of onshore wind capacity was partially repowered in the US.

Our panel of industry and government stakeholders will discuss recent developments in wind technology, structural and grid feasibilities and opportunities to explore in the future by Tamil Nadu. Among other issues, the panel will attempt to answer the following key questions:

• What is the underlying repowering potential in Tamil Nadu?
• What are the associated challenging factors - transmission network, structural feasibility and interconnection process?
• What is the domestic market readiness for new technology and what are the cost considerations for repowering?

This webinar forms part of the activities and research under the Sustainable Energy Transformation Tamil Nadu (SET-TN) initiative. SET-TN aims to facilitate higher clean energy deployment in the state by working with stakeholders to find sustainable and equitable solutions. SET-TN is a collaborative initiative by Auroville Consulting (AVC), Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG), and the World Resources Institute India (WRI).

SPEAKERS

• Mr. Krishna Nair, President Indian Wind Power Association (Northern Regional Council)
• Ms. Lakshmi S Vaidyanathan, Head of Section, Asset Operations & Management, DNV-GL
• Mr. Daniel Liu, Principal Analyst, Power and Renewables, Wood Mackenzie
• Mr. Krishnajith M U, General Manager, Idam Infrastructure Advisory Pvt. Ltd
• Captain Kishore Sundaresan, Director, GreenTech Wind Energy Services Pvt Ltd
• Mr. Deepak Krishnan, Associate Director, WRI India (Moderator)