Gujarat, MP, AP, Karnataka to lead in wind power capacity addition in FY '17

Gujarat currently has the highest wind power generation capacity potential of 35,071 Mw, of which 11% has been installed

With land availability becoming an issue for fresh solar power projects in the state, Gujarat is expected to see more traction in wind power projects, among other states.

The state currently has the highest wind power generation capacity potential of 35,071 Mw, of which 11 per cent or 3,789 Mw of capacity has been installed in Gujarat.

As per a report by India Ratings & Research, due to falling capacity addition in the prominent states like Tamil Nadu, the baton for future capacity growth would be handed over to secondary states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.

In its analysis, India Ratings & Research has classified low to moderate wind potential states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka as 'secondary states' and moderate to high wind potential states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Rajasthan as 'prominent states'. Among the secondary states, at 35,071 Mw, Gujarat has the highest wind power generation capacity potential, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana whose combined potential is around 14,497 Mw, Karnataka (13,593 Mw) and Madhya Pradesh (2931 Mw).

 

 

"New capacities are more likely to come up in secondary states, while prominent states are likely to play second fiddle. Repowering options could however, provide incremental generation in these states," the report states.

 

 

However, offering an outlook for fiscal 2016-17, the report is of the view that the next round of capacity addition would come to secondary states for several reasons.

 

 

"A huge untapped potential coupled with a diversification policy adopted by the developers will attract larger private investment in the secondary states. However, GoI's support will play a key role in the development of the sector in the secondary states. A favourable policy conducive for private investment supported by adequate infrastructure extended by the state will help lay the foundation for the sustainable growth of the sector in these states," the report states.

 

 

Further, the secondary states are also better off than the prominent ones on the state public utilities front (SPUs), which continue to remain an area of concern for the power sector.

 

 

The secondary state SPUs are relatively better than those in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan but still have moderate to below average operational and financial risk profiles wherein Gujarat is an outlier on the positive side. "Given the lower cushion on PLFs in the secondary states, delays in payments from SPUs could pressure cash flows and impact debt servicing," India Ratings & Research reports.

 

 

Overall, India Ratings and Research expects capacity addition in the sector to remain healthy but likely to fall short of Government of India's ambitious target of 60 Gw by 2022 translating into approximately 5 Gw per year.

 

 

Meanwhile, in terms of installed wind power generation capacity as on August 31, 2015 as per the report, Tamil Nadu leads at 7487 Mw, followed by Maharashtra (4450 Mw), Gujarat (3789 Mw), Rajasthan (3578 Mw), Karnataka (2645 Mw) and Andhra Pradesh (1126 Mw), among others.

 

 

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