Renewable energy, be it biofuels, solar or wind power are increasingly high on national and global agendas. It will also be the focus of the UN conference on Climate Change scheduled for 3-14 December in Bali this year.
While rapid economic development in India is reducing poverty and improved the living standards of million, it has also made India’s environmental record a matter of criticism. Land, water and air pollution aside, the new culture of consumption that characterizes India is viewed as a threat for global-warming and climate change.
While international pressure is mounting on the country to move towards environmentally sustainable growth, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is cautioning India about the climatic dangers of unrestricted and unregulated energy demand. In fact, India is expected to become the world’s third largest emitter of carbon by 2015.
Interestingly, a fact often glossed over by the global institutions and the developed world is that this country of over a billion people has emerged as a leader in the use of wind power. It is the forward thinking of the Indian Government and the liberal tax incentives it has provided that have made India one of the fastest-growing markets for wind power.
Associate director with KPMG consultants, Santosh Kamath, who is also a wind power specialist thinks,
When it comes to renewable energy and wind power, India can look the West in the eye and say – look at our years of progressive policies.
While wind power in India may constitute a minority sector compared to the nation’s overall energy needs, renewable wind energy accounts around 7 percent of India’s installed generation capacity. This makes India highly competitive in the renewable energy sector and also makes it the fourth largest player wind-power market.
CSE associate director Chandra Bhushan observes,
Wind power is growing tremendously. If you want a wind plant you’ll have to book a year in advance. There’s been years of progressive policies and recognition for a long time that India will face a shortage of fossil fuels.
The other reasons for India success in this sector include:
– India has extended coastlines that make it ideal for harnessing wind power.
– Indian wind power potential is estimated at 45,000 megawatts, which constitutes around one-third of total energy consumption.
– India does not face issues relating to destruction of natural beauty by wind turbines. Jaisalmer’s in Rajasthan which houses both an ancient fort and several turbines is a testament to this fact.
– And finally, the cost of wind energy is highly competitive in India.
All this makes India highly suited to this form of renewable energy and on the fast-track to becoming a ‘wind superpower’.
Via: Yahoo News
Image: Wikipedia
