Kerala State Electricity Board eyeing more wind power

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Kerala’s installed capacity in wind power stands at a meagre 71.52 MW. | Photo Credit: K.K. MUSTAFAH

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is again exploring the possibility of tapping Kerala’s wind energy potential. The KSEB has secured permission from the State Electricity Regulatory Commission to procure 300 megawatts (MW) of wind power from within the State.

The power utility is expected to float tenders for the development of wind power projects and supply of power from them soon. The glitch is that Kerala has made scant progress in tapping wind energy, although its solar power capacity has grown exponentially in recent years.

Kerala’s installed capacity in wind power stands at a meagre 71.52 MW, data with the Ministry of New Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the State government’s Economic Review show. This constitutes a mere 1.6% of the total power generation capability within the State. Given this scenario, the KSEB had scaled down the originally proposed tender size of 500 MW to 300 MW.

Also, the minimum bid capacity has been reset from the 10 MW prescribed by the Union Power Ministry to 2 MW. This ‘deviation,’ according to the commission’s order allowing the procurement, is meant to encourage wider participation, particularly from local and emerging developers, thereby enhancing competition and potentially leading to lower tariffs.

It is also expected to enable the use of small and fragmented land parcels for such projects. The Renewable energy and Net metering Regulation, 2020, and its require distribution licensees such the KSEB to met the renewable purchase obligation (RPO). In doing so, preference should be given to power purchases from renewable energy sources within Kerala.

An earlier study by MNRE and Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT) had pegged Kerala’s wind energy potential at around 605 MW. But this is largely theoretical when considering the geographical peculiarities of the State and the challenges posed by land ownershi