The wind power potential in Andhra Pradesh is assessed to be at least 88,000 Mw from wastelands.
The results indicate that availability of potential is not a constraint for development of wind power in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Karnataka has about 49,000MW from wasteland and scrub forest lands at 80m hub heights. Out of this about 27,000 MW is available at sites where net CUFs above 25% can be expected.
A. P. has about 89,000MW from wasteland and scrub forest land at the same height. Out of this, 64,000MW is available at sites with net CUFs above 25%.
At 100 m hub-height, Karnataka has 71,000 MW from wastelands and scrub forest lands and A.P. has about 115,000 MW from the same land type. Potential from wastelands and those from scrublands, subject to clearances from the Forest department could be prioritized for wind power development. Out of the 10 suitable sites for which field visits were undertaken, all were found to match the land use type indicated as per satellite land use data and were unoccupied.
There is very high wind potential from agricultural land in both States. It is recognized that it is not feasible to use all suitable agricultural lands for establishing wind farms. However, there is scope for considering some of the highest potential agriculture lands for mixed land use between agriculture activities and wind power development subject to impact assessment studies.
Even if 5% of suitable land at each height, situated in the above 300 W/m2 WPD category can be considered for mixed land use, potential in Karnataka and A.P. from agricultural lands is 20,000 MW and 12000 MW respectively at 80 m hub height. At 100 m hub-height, potential from agricultural land is 32,000 MW and 18,000 MW respectively in Karnataka and A.P.
Furthermore, there is a potential of around 12,000 Mw if 5 per cent of the state’s agricultural lands suitable for wind power were used.
According to a study by the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), wind energy is cost-effective as compared with other sources of generation. The main challenge for large-scale wind power addition is managing its variability and unpredictability.
The state will have to develop fast ramping sources of generation such as hydro, pumped hydro, open cycle gas turbines, which could be used to manage the variability, the study stated.
Similarly, Karnataka has an estimated potential of 50,000 Mw from wastelands for a turbine height of 80 metres and an additional 20,000 Mw if 5 per cent of the agricultural lands suitable for wind power were used.
CSTEP recently released a report ‘Wind Power in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh: Potential Assessment, Costs and Grid Implications’ during a workshop on Roadmap for Accelerated Wind Power Development in India.
The major finding of the report is that the potential available in Karnataka and AP for wind power at higher heights is not a constraint for large-scale generation. The modern wind turbines installable at heights up to 100 metres can efficiently extract higher potential available in comparison to earlier models, which were built at less than 50 metres height.
Speaking on the occasion, S V Ranganath, chief secretary, Karnataka, stated that current allocations for wind power projects were not adequate given the high potential available to be tapped in Karnataka.
He stressed the importance of considering storage mechanisms such as pumped hydro storage to manage the unpredictability of generating large-scale power from wind resource.
“The implications of the results are significant for setting national level targets, at a time when the Planning Commission has indicated interest in setting up a National Wind Mission in the 12th Plan,” said Alok Srivastava, joint secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
The study undertook a geographical information system (GIS)-based assessment of the availability of wind resource, land, and transmission networks for rapid wind power development.
