Gone with wind: cancelled projects scatter Karnataka’s renewable energy targets

Karnataka’s intentions of meeting the Centre’s renewable energy targets appears to be taking as many steps backward as forward—currently, as against a commissioned capacity of 5,514.31MW, proposals worth 5,064.15MW have been cancelled. This is because a substantially high number of applications for setting up wind, hydroelectric and solar power projects have been cancelled for various reasons by the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL), an organisation that works under the State’s Energy Department to promote renewable energy.

Of the 22,219.70 MW allotted capacity in renewable energy, KREDL has cancelled applications for the generation of 5,064.15MW, most of which were for wind energy (4,244MW). The commissioned capacity for wind energy currently stands at 3,071.64 MW.

Ill-conceived

“Sometimes, they don’t have enough land and at other times, they don’t have clearances from the Forest Department. There have also been proposals to set-up wind farms in places where there is simply no potential to produce energy from wind,” said a KREDL official.

While the most modest requirement for wind energy farms is four or five acres of land for producing 1MW of energy, other infrastructure such as the access or approach to farm and the ability to position transmission lines also have to be factored, the official explained.

Wrong geography

The belt that is deemed to be most conducive for the setting up of wind farms in the State is in north Karnataka—Hiriyur, Chitradurga, Davangere, Belagavi, Gadag, and parts of Raichur. A small amount of potential is also seen around Chikmagalur and Hassan. However, among the proposals recommended for cancellation and submitted to the government by KREDL are applications proposing to set up wind farms at places such as Bengaluru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Tumakuru.

T.M. Vijay Bhaskar, Additional Chief Secretary to the Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, said that they government was fully in favour of the setting up of wind farms because they generated clean energy. “In fact, our officers say we are not getting enough applications,” he commented.

Land unavailable

But the management representative of a well-known company, whose proposal has also been recommended for cancellation, said the availability of land was a big problem. “Prices of acquiring land have risen considerably. At the same time, conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes, as well as getting clearances [to set up wind farms] on forest land, has become more difficult,” he said. He also blamed the spate of cancellations on people without the required know-how applying for allotments.