Indian wind energy sector witnessed a record installation of 5,400 MW in FY17, registering a 60 per cent growth as against 3,400 MW in FY16. With this addition, the total installation of wind moved from 27 GW to 32 GW.
There was huge investor interest in the sector and a critical role was played by the State governments for this result. There was support by the State governments to establish greenfield manufacturing units, presence of FIT framework, project management, evacuation and installations. The central government also supported this growth with policy support (GBI & Accelerated Depreciation), thus enabling this historical milestone of 5,400 MW.
Tulsi Tanti, CMD, Suzlon Group sharing his views on renewable sector performance in FY2017, said, “We are very confident that in FY18 the wind industry will deliver 6,000 MW of new capacity.”
The government’s target of 60 GW from wind by 2022 can be easily achieved based on momentum the sector has gained, driven primarily by the maturity of the manufacturing base, cost-competitive supply chain in India and availability of reliable products which is bringing down the cost of energy.
Renewable energy sector has grown rapidly in the last two years. In FY15, the total investment was $4 bn. Subsequently, it was $7 bn in FY16 and $14 bn in FY17. The renewable sector is now growing by 100 per cent on a YoY basis. The RE installations has grown from 36 GW in FY15 to 57 GW in FY17.
He added, “The opportunity given to the sector to increase scale enables us to bring down the cost of energy. The sector has generated more than one million jobs and I am sure the momentum will continue. The sector plays a key role to ensure access of energy to the people who are still living in the dark. This sector has been a strong catalyst for rural agricultural sector economic growth. It is now evident that the renewable energy is now the main stream energy source.”
Industry sources said, during the last fiscal, orders were pouring in from independent power producers. And the manufacturing capability help in scaling up the capacities. With the target of reaching 60 GW by 2022 wind power capacity, the industry is hoping to add about 6,000 MW capacity in the current fiscal. Orders that were received in the last year are being implemented this year so there is a possibility that fresh orders that may be received by mid this year could get into implementation mode only the following year.
A source said, “Grid availability remains a challenge for wind power growth. If the Central government can ensure consistent policy in renewable energy space and a clear policy on hybrid power (wind and solar), it will help the industry generate adequate capacities and the benefits of both the forms can be fully derived. Too much of focus only only solar or wind will not help the nation. A draft policy has been prepared but a final policy can bring in the needed momentum for the sector.”
However investments in the renewable energy space will mostly stay healthy in the coming years, according to industry’s expectations.
Source:telanganatoday
