Wind Power News: Asia
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Each windmill is a factory: Court
Chennai, Dec. 24: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ruled that each windmill is a factory. What more? To put up a windmill in Tamil Nadu, it is also necessary to obtain the permission of the local panchayat body, the Court held. Manufacturing process In the dispute between Mr S. Muppidathi and several others, including Global Wind Infrastructure and Services Pvt Ltd, the Court held that, “a windmill generates electricity and is therefore, a factory involved in . . .
Telugu Desam blows hot over wind contract
The Telugu Desam has alleged that large-scale irregularities took place while awarding contracts to three firms for generating 800 megawatt Wind Energy projects in Anantapur district, flouting norms. TD general secretary and senior legislator Payyavula Kesav on Sunday alleged that Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, without announcing the wind energy policy of the government and without amending the existing norms, had awarded three companies, Het-ero, Axis and another firm (he did not mentioned the name) for generating 800 MW . . .
Stricter grid laws for renewable energy sector soon: CERC
Ahmedabad, Nov 30 (PTI) The renewable energy (RE) sector will soon be in for stricter grid laws and standards compliance regime, a member of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission said here today. The power sector regulator CERC also expressed concern over the high cost of wind power in the nation and blamed the wind equipment manufacturers for ”exploiting” the market, owing to lack of transparency. “The renewable energy sector must follow the grid laws and standards strictly. The metering at their . . .
The wild cats at Bhadra Tiger Reserve can breathe easy
Wildlife conservationists have won a legal battle in stalling two projects that would have upset the ecologically fragile shola-grassland forests buffering the Bhadra Tiger Reserve in Chikmagalur district. Organisations such as Bhadra Wildlife Conservation Trust, Nature Conservation Guild, WildCAT-C and WildCANE and local wildlife conservation NGOs in Chikmagalur, have been waging a legal battle against a proposed wind farm and a resort-cum-spa in the region. The state government had, on April 17, 2003, leased 305.37acres to Karnataka Renewal Energy Development . . .
Birds concern stall windmills
Concern over adverse impact of windmills on birds has stalled major clean energy projects in India. An environment ministry committee has refused to approve any wind energy projects till impact of these windmills on avifauna and bats is fully examined. A study by wildlife conservation organization ELA Foundation, Pune, has found that windmills restrict the path of birds and has been cause of disappearance of many birds in certain areas. More comprehensive studies in west have indicated that lakhs of . . .
Windmills near Maharashtra mascot’s home, green brigade rings alarm bells
Punaji Thubal, a farmer in Kharpud village, about 80 km from Pune, points at a mass of gravel that has entered his paddy field. He says it came from a road laid uphill to transport parts of a series of windmills. Some of these are being set up 3.5 km from the boundary of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, home to the Indian giant squirrel, or shekru, state animal of Maharashtra. Destruction of the shekru’s habitat is among the concerns expressed by . . .
Lightning is nemesis of windmills, threatening Japan’s renewable energy campaign
SAPPORO — As Japan moves to shift away from nuclear power, wind power, a potential key player among renewable energy sources, faces a stubborn foe: lightning. Hokkaido hosts 266 windmills, the most among Japan’s 47 prefectures, and about 90 percent of them are located along the Sea of Japan coast, where lightning frequently occurs between fall and winter. But no definite way to solve the problem is in sight and operators of these windmills are struggling to cope with lightning-caused . . .
Slow down the wind
At its birth in 2008, China Wind Power (CWP) exhibition only attracted 200 exhibitors, and the exhibition area only covered 10,000 square meters. Three years later, CWP 2011 attracted more than 600 exhibitors, and the exhibition areas covered 50,000 square meters. Xia Lihua, General Manager of CCID Conference and Exhibition Co. Ltd., which is co-organizer of the event, said CWP has become the world’s third biggest and Asia’s biggest wind power exhibition. “The scale is closely related to the development . . .
Offshore wind projects run into turbulence
Construction work at four offshore wind farm projects in Jiangsu province has not started a year after they were awarded to major state-owned power firms at prices widely seen as too low to be profitable. While the tenders were organised by Beijing, critics levelled accusations of conflicts of interest within departments of some local governments over land allocation. Chinese Wind Energy Association vice-president Shi Pengfei said some local government agencies wanted the developers to move their projects further offshore to . . .
China’s windfarms: new safety fears
China is the biggest wind turbine maker – and consumer – in the world. But its wind industry is increasingly being plagued by safety concerns, most recently with an accident this week that killed five people. The sleek modernity of today’s wind turbines belies the dangers inherent in their operation: technicians can get hurt falling from their tall towers or tangling with powerful moving parts inside the turbine itself. This week China saw one of its most deadly wind accidents . . .
