Wind Power for a GREENER future!

Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unevenly heats the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the void. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. And wind has long served as a power source to humans. Ancient mariners used sails to capture the wind. Farmers once used windmills to grind their grains and pump water. Today, more and more wind turbines wring electricity from the breeze. Over the past decade, wind turbine use has increased more than 25 percent per year. Still, it only provides a small fraction of the world's energy.

With a vision of greener Future, the government of India is working day and night to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement 2015. Under the Agreement, India had committed to creating a cumulative carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030 and in achieving this Wind power plants can play a major role.

Wind Mill, Tamil Nadu

As of fiscal year 2018-2019 India produced about 4% of its electricity need using wind, whcih is comparatively very less as compared to around 72% suing fossil fuel modes. India has set a target of installing 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2022, of which a majority is proposed to be met by solar (100 GW) and wind (60 GW) energy. As of March 1, 2020, India has installed capacity of about 86.76 GW of grid-interactive renewable power and 37.6 GW of that total has been through wind energy installations. At that value (37.6 GW), India is the world’s fourth-largest onshore wind market by installations and has the potential for more than 695 GW at 120 metres hub height.

Wind power utilization strategies by states

Indian coastal states, western ghats and Northern states in the Himalayan region are the windiest in the country when taking the average wing speed around the year. With an average speed of over 5km/hr India states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the most prominent states to utilize the wind for energy production. Till now most of the money allocated to power generation goes to thermal, it is high time now that these states make more efforts to utilize this energy through sequential introduction of Public Private Partnership in the energy sector and setting up more wind mills on higher grounds and in the coastal area, this will note only save the environment but at the same time will be more economical over a long run.

Wind Speed in India at 120m height

With India's need for electricity increasing every year with modernization of its facilities and infrastructure and to meet its growing population, it is high time to start investing in more affordable and reliable sources or energy. When compares to cost of fossil fuel (₹3.05/unit) the cost of electricity generation is much cheaper (₹2.43/unit), and the cost goes on decreasing over time. It is not only cheaper to produce but the ill effects on environment is also absent, making it one of the safest and more reliable sources of energy that can be produced.

Wind Energy share by states

Wind Energy Around the world

Wind power has become an important source of energy generation around the world, with global capacity reaching over 600GW in 2018. The construction of new wind power varies year to year and by region; Europe, for example, saw a 32% reduction in wind capacity in 2018 compared with 2017.

China is the world leader in wind energy, with over a third of the world’s capacity. China has about 236 GW of installed capacity followed by USA at 105 GW and Germany at 61 GW, India is in the forth place with 38 GW of installed capacity.

In Europe the big push for the growth of renewable energy began in 2009, when the EU agreed that by 2020, 20 percent of all the energy in the continent would come from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro-power. This decision led countries to set targets for the construction of infrastructure and for energy production.

Currently, in the European Union electricity from renewable sources satisfies about 15 percent of the continent’s energy needs, according to data from the EU. The production of wind energy on the continent will continue to grow. By 2030, the EU aims to use renewables for 27 percent of all its energy, accounting for half the electricity used.

South America's wind power capacity in 2018 was 18.6GW. Although this sector is dominated by Brazil, countries such as Chile and Argentina are now looking to invest aggressively in this clean and renewable source of energy.

With just 0.1 percent of the 2011 world market in Africa and the Middle East, the continent is still playing catch up. Large-upfront costs mean wind is a long way away from overtaking dirtier but cheaper energy sources like coal and gas.

Way Into the Future

In a report published by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)said that while the country has set a target to reach a total wind capacity of 60 GW by 2022 and 140 GW by 2030, project installation have been decelerating recently, with only 2.3 GW installed in 2019, nearly half of the 4.1 GW installed in 2017. The report finds that even in the high case scenario, the country is likely to fall short of its ambitious wind energy target for 2022.

According to a study conducted IRENA by 2050, wind energy could account for 35% of global energy needs. However, for that to happen, the current capacity of wind energy would need to increase tenfold to 6,000 gigawatts, including 5,000 GW on land and 1,000 GW offshore which at the moment just over 5% of the world electricity is generated.

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