Wind Energy Could Play Major Role in India’s Green Energy Transition. But How Eco-Friendly Is It?

Wind power could become a critical component of the world’s renewable energy supply as the turbines use mechanical power to spin a generator and generate electricity from wind energy, without causing emissions. But the question is whether wind energy, one of the fastest-growing energy sources in the world, is really environmentally friendly.

Eco-friendly or Not

When it comes to drawbacks, the recycling process, the effect on species, particularly bird life and the carbon produced over the course of using wind power — all these need critical analysis.

Hundreds of tonnes of materials, including steel, concrete, fibreglass, copper and more unusual materials like neodymium and dysprosium used in permanent magnets are needed for wind turbines. It is understood that all these leave carbon footprints.

For example, steel production necessitates the use of blast furnaces to burn metallurgical coal. Metal and rare earth mining require a lot of energy too. Furthermore, the production of concrete produces a significant amount of CO2.

According to reports, there is another widely debated issue related to noise from the turbines. It was stated that wind turbine noise has been linked to dizziness, nausea, the sensation of ear pressure, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleeping disorders, headaches, and other symptoms. Additionally, the term “Wind Turbine Syndrome” has been coined to describe the link between these symptoms and wind turbine noise exposure.

In another case, it was noted that though wind power’s rapid expansion will help reduce CO2 emissions, reducing global warming and biodiversity loss, according to some environmentalists, the turbines should not be installed in natural reserves or migratory bird stopover areas to avoid endangering animals.

According to USGS: “A key challenge facing the wind industry is the potential for turbines to adversely affect wild animals both directly, via collisions, as well as indirectly due to noise pollution, habitat loss, and reduced survival or reproduction.”

It is noteworthy that as per studies sponsored by wildlife groups, wind turbines killed 23,300 birds in Canada in 2011 and the authors estimated that this would increase to 233,000 over the next 10-15 years, increasing tenfold as wind power grows.

As per US Energy Information Administration, a few wind turbines have caught fire, and some have leaked lubricating fluids, which can pollute soil and water. But as per the official data, these occurrences are uncommon.

It should be noted that these blades are quite difficult to recycle because they are made of carbon fibre and fibreglass composites held together with plastics.

Additionally, wind farm operators typically upgrade or “repower” their turbines once every decade, resulting in piles of old blades that are typically landfilled. But despite all these, wind power is considered to be one of the best alternatives. The wind is not only an abundant and inexhaustible resource, but also generates electricity without using any fuel or polluting the environment, which results in lower total air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.

Furthermore, along with solar energy, wind power can reduce the dependency on fossil fuels.

Though it doesn’t contribute to climate change, wind energy only emits greenhouse gases indirectly during the manufacturing and transportation of wind turbines, as well as during the installation process.

With the advancement of technology, the designs of wind turbines are also improving to produce more electricity that also needs less upkeep and operates more quietly and safely.

In working landscapes with multiple uses and agriculture, wind energy generation works well. In rural or isolated areas, such as farms and ranches or coastal and island communities, where high-quality wind resources are frequently found, wind energy is simple to integrate.

Wind Power in India

In the case of India, it should be highlighted that with the government’s commitment to reach Net Zero by 2070 and updated nationally determined contributions (NDC) of obtaining 50% installed energy capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030, the country is stepping up its efforts to decarbonize its economy. So along with other renewable energy sources, wind power is also expected to play a crucial role in India’s green energy transition story.

Vikram V, Vice President & Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited, told News18: “The all-India installed wind power capacity is 41 GW as of August 2022 constituting 35% of the renewable capacity and 10% of the overall installed power generation capacity.”

Wind power capacity addition has remained subdued over the last five years, with cumulative capacity addition of 8.0 GW compared to 15.0 GW capacity addition in the five years prior to that.

According to Vikram, this follows the transition from a feed-in tariff regime to a reverse auction-based bidding regime, which resulted in significant tariff reductions for wind power projects.

While highlighting the challenges, he said: “The developers were facing financing challenges amid concerns over the viability of the bid tariffs… This apart, there are delays in execution caused by land acquisition issues, delays in securing transmission connectivity, delays in securing approvals from regulators and weak financial profile of some of the OEMs, leading to supply-side constraints.”

“With respect to the operating wind assets, the exposure to the state-owned discoms having weak financial profile leading to delays in receiving payments remains the key challenge,” he added.

Furthermore, the industry expert stated that while overall wind project auctions by central nodal agencies like SECI and state utilities remain high at 16.3 GW, actual ground execution is slow, with only about 5.3 GW commissioned as of August this year against over 11.0 GW to be commissioned, according to the timelines provided in these bids.

However, as per Vikram, though the timely signing of PPAs/PSAs by the bidding agencies and easing of execution concerns remains key, the growth potential for the sector remains favourable considering the policy support and the target to increase the non-fossil fuel-based capacity to 500 GW by 2030, wherein wind segment is expected to play an important role.

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