Short of expectations
Wind energy developers in Andhra Pradesh also seem to be taking a breather after the rush of activity in the early 1990s. "The establishment of new farms has been short of expectations,' says M Venkateswarulu of the Wind Developers' Association of Andhra Pradesh. With an installed capacity of 61.79 megawatt (mw), the state ranks third in terms of installed capacity, after Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
Ministry of non-conventioal energy officials point out that the success of wind sector in Tamil Nadu was made easier by the fact that land acquisition for such projects was not a problem. But, despite plenty of windy sites, Andhra Pradesh is lagging behind because of administrative hassles, including delays over land acquisition.
The flipside to this is misuse of land acquired for wind farms. At Ramagiri in Andhra Pradesh, the state nodal agency allocated wind farms of 280 mw net capacity. However, the development has only been 54 mw. Some of the companies did not use the land for the purpose of wind farm development at all.
The Non-conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited now demands a security deposit from parties seeking clearance for wind farm development.
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