ABB, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of large electrical equipment, said it crossed the 4.5 GW milestone in terms of sales of wind power generators in India, and that the country is likely to add 4 GW of capacity this year.
India has a target of having 60 Gigawatt of wind-power capacity and 220 GW of solar power generation capacity by 2022. However, the current wind power generation capacity of India is only around 28 GW.
This financial year — which ends in March — India would likely end up adding 4 GW, said ABB.
This representes an acceleration of roll-out, as the country added only about 2.8 GW in the year 2015. With five years remaining to reach the target, India must add wind turbines at an average of 6 GW of wind power per year in the remaining period.
ABB said the 4.5 GW of generators sold in India comprised 2,000 units, giving an average size of 2.25 megawatt per turbine. The generator converts the mechanical force generated by the turbine’s fans into electricity.
ABB makes its generators at its factory in Vadodara Gujarat. Established in 2010, the plant can manufacture wind power generators of ratings up to 3 MW.
ABB is also building one of the world’s longest ultra-high-volate direct current links, from Madhya Pradesh to Tamil Nadu, which will connect the wind power generated in south India with demand centers in central and north India.
The price of alternative energy, such as solar and wind, has crashed in recent years as equipment prices come down, more so in solar than in wind. This is likely to further increase the pace of installation of wind farms.