In a first, Capital will buy 350mw from wind farms

NEW DELHI : In a first for the city, Delhi will use wind energy to meet its growing power demand. Moving beyond solar power, distribution companies (discoms) in the city are now going to procure 350 MW of wind energy.

With this, wind energy will have the highest share among the renewable sources that are used to meet Delhi’s power demand. Solar energy satiates 141MW of the capital’s energy needs.

“After a series of meetings, discoms are ready to procure wind power which is at present the cheapest energy source in the country. Wind is complimentary to solar as a source since it mainly comes at night. This will help us in the non-peak hours, as well as to meet Delhi’s non-solar renewable purchase obligation (RPO),” said Varsha Joshi, principal secretary (power).

The discoms will purchase wind power at the rate of Rs 2.44 per unit which is even cheaper than power procured from thermal stations. “The lowest bid for wind has gone to ₹2.43 per unit and ₹2.44 for solar energy. Even when it is compared to coal-based electricity, which is the conventional source, wind will be cheaper for discoms,” an official from the power department said.

The cheapest power Delhi buys from among thermal power stations is from Singrauli which costs discoms ₹2.7 per unit. Power from the Dadri station comes at around ₹4.5 per unit.

Since there is no scope for harnessing wind in Delhi, discoms applied for SECI’S inter-state bid- * ding process. In this, discom BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) which supplies electricity to south and west Delhi areas got an allocation of 150 MW, while BSES Yamuna (BYPL) and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) have got 50 MW each. It is likely that the power will be procured from wind stations at Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

“Apart from this, BRPL has also signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) of another 100 MW of wind energy with Power Trading Corporation of India Limited (PTC). We have been procuring energy from all available renewable sources at economical rates,” said a BSES spokesperson. The company has also tied up for buying around 80 MW of hydroelectricity.

Officials said that the advantage with renewable energy is that discoms do not have to pay any transmission and fixed charges.