Future of wind power in India and recent development in world

Future prospects of wind energy in India

Despite the high installed capacity, the actual utilization of wind power in India is low because policy incentives are geared towards installation rather than operation of the plants. This is why only 1.6% of actual power production in India comes from wind although the installed capacity is 6%. The government is considering the addition of incentives for ongoing operation of installed wind power plants.^[4]

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has fixed a target of 10,500 MW between 2007-12, but an additional generation capacity of only about 6,000 MW might be available for commercial use by 2012.

Recent developments in Wind power worldwide

In the near future, wind energy will be the most cost effective source of electrical power. Research is going all around the world to develop more cost effective and efficient wind turbines. In fact, a good case can be made for saying that it already has achieved this status. The actual life cycle cost of fossil fuels (from mining and extraction to transport to use technology to environmental impact to political costs and impacts, etc.) is not really known, but it is certainly far more than the current wholesale rates. The eventual depletion of these energy sources will entail rapid escalations in price which -- averaged over the brief period of their use -- will result in postponed actual costs that would be unacceptable by present standards. And this doesn't even consider the environmental and political costs of fossil fuels use that are silently and not-so-silently mounting every day.

WhalePower turbines

One of the advanced researches done by WhalePower, based in Toronto, Ontario, is testing this wind-turbine blade at a wind-testing facility in Prince Edward Island. The bumps, or "tubercles," on the blade's leading edge reduce noise, increase its stability, and enable it to capture more energy from the wind. Prototypes of wind-turbine blades have shown that the delayed stall doubles the performance of the turbines at wind speeds of about 17 miles per hour and allows the turbine to capture more energy out of lower-speed winds. For example, the turbines generate the same amount of power at 10 miles per hour that conventional turbines generate at 17 miles per hour. The tubercles effectively channel the air flow across the blades and create swirling vortices that enhance lift.