Strong wind that destroyed thousands of acres of standing horticulture crops, especially banana, drumstick and cashew, during the last one month has blessed windmill units as power generation in the district has touched 360 MW, which exceeded the total power needs of 225 MW in Theni district.
Even before the onset of southwest monsoon, strong wind had brought cheers to windmill industry in the district as power generation has been increasing day after day, according to sources in the TANGEDCO in the district.
At present, 360 out of total 520 power generating units have been generating power every day. Power generation at night was high when compared to power generation during day, said workers in windmill power stations.
They said that power generation would go up in the coming months. The TANGEDCO had already commissioned sub-stations at Gandamanur and Upparpatti to transmit power to the grid for distribution.
Theni windmill sector has been emerging as a major source of electricity generation with the district identified as having the potential to generate more power. Wind must blow between 7 and 25 metres/second for generating power.
The traditional sites for wind power in Tamil Nadu were Tirunelveli - Kanyakumari stretch and Udulumpettai and Palladum areas in Coimbatore district along with Melkaraipatti and Thalaiyuthu in Dindigul district.
The Aralvaimozhi pass in Tiruneveli, Udumelphet and Palghat Passes were the major sources of wind power now. In the last six years, the Cumbum Pass in Theni has emerged as major source of wind power.
