The wind energy sector has, as expected, turned in a very poor performance for the year 2018-19, with fresh installations of a paltry 1,481 MW.
When the industry recorded a high of 5,400 MW in 2016-17, it was expected to scale further heights in the coming years, but expectations have been badly belied.
Why it happened so, is a question that has been addressed in these columns many times. But to recap, it was due to the single-minded pursuit by the government of lower prices for the wind power sold to electricity distribution companies (discoms).
Go to the website of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and you’ll find the proud proclamation that the tariffs were driven to a record low of Rs. 2.44. The Ministry mindlessly introduced a cap — Rs. 2.83 a kWhr — above which energy companies could not quote in the tariff-based competitive bids that have become the norm. Then tenders have been cancelled because the tenderer — the government — didn’t like the tariffs it got.
