Wind energy producers in the State have appealed to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation to expedite disbursement of payment arrears for energy supplied to the grid.
K. Kasthurirangaian, chairman of the Indian Wind Power Association, told The Hindu here on Saturday that the windmill owners in southern districts had not received the amount for the last eight months and those in Coimbatore region for the last nine months, for energy supplied to the grid during the last nine months. The corporation had cleared bills till the July to the wind energy operators generators here,” he said.
Nearly 15 per cent of the total energy consumed in the State was from the wind mills. The corporation paid Rs.2.75 per unit for energy generated from windmills installed before June, 2006. For the units installed between June 2006 and September 2009, the corporation paid Rs.2.90 for a unit of power supplied to the grid.
For the mills installed after September 2009, the corporation paid Rs.3.39 for a unit. The installed capacity of windmills in the State was 5887 MW as on March 31, 2011. Of this, 997 MW was added during 2010-2011.
Mr. Kasthurirangaian said the windmill owners had invested nearly Rs.35,000 crore so far in setting up the mills in the State. Of this, just about Rs.10,000 crore was from their own funds. They had to repay the bank loans and also maintain the wind farms. Hence, the corporation should settle the dues immediately.
Modify norms
It should also modify the norms for third party sales. Maharashtra and Karnataka have workable norms, he said. The market price for energy ranged from Rs.6 to Rs.10 a unit and went up to even Rs.12 a unit in summer.
The State government should also help the corporation pay the wind energy producers by allocating funds to it. It was earlier estimated that wind energy potential in the State was 5500 MW. However, the efficiency of the machines installed now had increased and hence the installed capacity was expected to go up further.
