Wind power in Tamil Nadu

About 2.24 million units of wind power was generated on April 27 and 11.78 MU the next day. On Saturday, high-velocity winds made sure the generation shot up to 21.6 MU.

“Whenever there is supply in the grid, we are not enforcing load-shedding,” a senior Tangedco official said. He attributed the sudden surge in power generation to rains accompanied by strong winds in the southern and western parts of the state.

“The peak season for wind-power generation begins in the first or second week of May and lasts till October,” the official said, adding, “Usually, power generation by windmills will be between 5 lakh and 1 million units in this period.”

The winds have brought much-needed relief to the corporation which has not been able to purchase power from northern states due to clogging of transmission lines and delay in commissioning of thermal plants in the state.

Tamil Nadu has an installed wind energy capacity of 6,696 MW, which is 41 per cent that of the country. “Once the wind season begins, we will get 2,000 MW to 2500 MW a day from the wind turbines,” the official said. The state is facing a deficit of 3,000-4,000 MW.

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