Bloomberg: India directs wind farms to forecast power or face fines

Bloomberg News (July 15, 2013) – India will fine wind farms that fail to set accurate day-ahead forecasts for power output, passing on risks to owners like CLP Holdings Ltd.  and Tata Power Co. (TPWR) after volatile generation led to the world’s biggest blackout.

A directive enforcing the fines began today after industry opposition led to a two-year delay, said Rajiv Bansal, secretary of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Each day wind farms with a capacity of 10 megawatts or more need to predict their level of generation in 15-minute blocks for the following day and will be fined for missing estimates by more than 30 percent, according to the directive. They will use seasonal records and weather forecasts, while the fines will be paid to state utilities through a new Renewable Regulatory Fund.

“Forecasting at 15-minute intervals is very challenging,” and could cost a 100-megawatt farm an estimated 250 million rupees ($4 million) a year, Tata Power said in an e-mailed response to questions. “Developers will see this as a further handicap if penalties are enforced.”

The creaking power grid can’t cope with volatile wind- and sun-power generation that has doubled in capacity in five years to almost 20 gigawatts. At the same time, wind developers are struggling after the government withdrew subsidies and turbine installations slumped 42 percent last financial year.

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Date: July 16, 2013 | Source: | Asia Energy Journal

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