Fresh installations of wind power capacity in the country in the first six months of the current financial year fell 40 per cent compared with capacity addition in the same period last year.
In the April-September period of 2012-13, the country added 851.35 MW against 1,402.66 MW in the same period of 2011-12.
The fall has been attributed mainly to the removal of two key incentives that were available to those who put up wind mills—accelerated depreciation and generation-based incentive.
The figures also underscore the wind power developers face in the two key states—Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
In Tamil Nadu, the State that leads the country with 40 per cent of total wind power capacity in the country, the existing wind power producers are facing numerous problems, which is driving away fresh investments. Some of these problems are: inadequacy of grid to evacuate the power, humungous delays in the state-owned utility in making the payments for purchased power, unremunerative increase in tariff (by 12 paise to Rs 2.51 a unit) and increase in cross-subsidy charges.
As a result, fresh capacity additions in Tamil Nadu were only 162.95 MW, compared with 644.21 MW previously. Industry experts say that even whatever capacity came were only spillovers from the previous year; the state might add not more than 50 MW in the rest of the year.
In Gujarat, the fall is attributed to uncertainty over the state government’s policies.