An insightful report has been published by the Global wind power consultancy GL Garrad Hassan, titled 'Policy changes that can help Indian wind sector mature'. In that report, they talk about the problems faced by the Indian wind sector in 2012 and how the current policy changes can help stabilize the Indian wind sector on the long run.
In that report they discuss about the problems faced by Indian wind farm operators including,
- Reduction in Accelerated Depreciation from April 2012 that reduced the amount of tax breaks eligible for wind farm developers
- Generation Based Incentives (GBI) that are introduced now being focused on power generation rather than installed capacity
- Renewable Energy Certificates introduced in 2011 being new and concerns on its implementation
- Unscheduled Interchange charges for larger wind farms (over 10 MW capacity) and how that might affect wind power plants that do not accurately forecast their power generation capacity
- Slow pace in the modernization of transmission and distribution grid infrastructure, compounded by power thefts and subsidized electricity policies
The report also discusses how accurate forecasting by studying operational wind farm data can help wind farms avoid unscheduled interchange charges, why the shift from installed capacity to actual generation of electricity might help the Indian wind sector focus more on the qualitative aspects of their wind farms, and how other Govt. policies might help stabilize the wind sector, so that it can mature and stand on its own legs, quickly.
You can download and read the entire report from here (3 pages, pdf document).
