From a clear power deficit situation a few years ago, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has claimed not only that it has achieved a position of surplus, but that it has also started supplying power to other States.
A senior official of TANGEDCO said a feasibility study was started from November last year to use wind energy to the maximum without going for back down of wind power generation. As part of this strategy, TANGEDCO planned to sell surplus wind energy to other States and this plan was put in to practice from Monday (July 4). In this regard, a Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMC) was opened in the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC).
The official said the plan to sell surplus wind energy was to help other States fulfil the Renewable Purchase Obligation norms. About 120 mega watt (MW) of surplus wind power was being exported to two States — 60 MW of electricity to a company in Odisha and 60 MW to the power utility in Goa. The steadying of the peak electricity demand of 13,500 MW in the State and windy weather were the two factors that contributed to this, he added.
TANGEDCO officials are confident of using the wind energy without backing down for at least another two months as the windy weather would last till September. The senior official citing the sustained generation of wind energy of 3,500 MW to 4,000 MW from this month and TANGEDCO absorbing an all-time high of 94.65 million units (MU) on July 5, said the electricity department was hopeful of crossing the 12,000-MU mark, which was the highest wind energy used in a year in the State. TANGEDCO utilised the highest wind energy of 12,000 MU in a year in 2012-13.
The officials of the SLDC, which is the nerve centre of the electricity grid in the State, had been taking cautious steps to accommodate the “infirm” wind power without affecting the grid system.
The official said: “Despite opening REMC where wind is forecast in advance for coordinating with the SLDC to utilise maximum wind power, the error rate in wind power forecasting still poses a problem for the grid management engineers and needs to be fine tuned properly.”
The State government is seeking the Centre’s nod to create a national-level green power corridor for exclusively evacuating renewable energy.
