Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi approves Wind Energy Policy to expedite and encourage development of wind power generation activities in the state, said the Minister of Energy and Petrochemicals Mr. Saurabhbhai Patel in an announcement.
The existing Wind Energy Policy has come to an end in March 2013. Terming the Wind Energy Policy as an ambitious plan to make Gujarat’s 1,600 km of long coastline as a prosperous base for the development of energy sector especially to attract big scale investments from prospective investors from across country and abroad, said the Energy Minister.
Energy Minister Mr. Patel said taking into consideration the huge potential that the state has in terms of unconventional energy sources like wind energy, chief minister has decided to focus on development of wind power base in the state.
As per the new Wind Energy Policy the developers of such wind power plants will be able to sell the electricity to Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL), the state owned electricity company, or can sell it to any other company holding the licensed for electricity distribution. Wind energy generators will be able to sell it to the buyers at Rs 4.15 per unit, which in the outgoing policy was fixed at Rs 3.56 per unit.
The new rates will be in effect for next 25 years for all those developers who are selling electricity to GUVNL or others.
Energy Minister Mr. Patel said, “In order to encourage the developers the new Wind Energy Policy has exempted the electricity generated from windmills from paying the mandatory electricity duty.”
Apart from this, the wind energy developers will be allowed to use the electricity in their own factories if located in Gujarat, said the Energy Minister, adding that provision for the self-consumption is done with the wheeling and transmission charges, however, if the developers wish to use electricity for self-consumption at more than one location then they will have to pay additional 5 paise per unit in addition to the wheeling and transmission charges levied.
In case of self-consumption, if the industrial unit is left with surplus wind energy will face the cut of 15% and the energy left with them be considered to have been sold at Rs 3.52 per unit to the distribution company.
Energy Minister also gave details on those developers who may not wish to use their wind energy for their self-consumption and also do not sell at discounted rate. In that case the developers will have to pay wheeling and transmission charges, not using the banking facilities, and will be allowed to sell it to third party within 15 minutes period block after the offsetting process.
Policy has laid out clear provisions for allotment of state’s vast barren land tracts for the wind energy installations by the developers. In this way it will allow barren land otherwise unproductive and unused, become production source for clean and green energy. And in turn it will boost the environment friendly and efficient production cum use of energy.
Gujarat government has decided to give major thrust to exploit unconventional energy sources when entire World is worried about the global warming and its impacts and as a part of this state government is committed to implement this new policy. Energy Minister Mr. Patel said Gujarat is leading the path with almost 10% of total energy produced come from unconventional sources while others states has meager 2-3% of wind energy productions.
Energy Minister Mr. Patel said in order to rein in issues like power crisis across country, increasing mining production and rising fuel cost for power generation, damages being done to environment and global warming, Gujarat has decided to take a path breaking initiative to encourage eco-friendly unconventional sources of energy production like solar and wind power.
