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Wind Power News: India
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational mission to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law. The original articles, links to which are provided, may have additional links and photos and other media that were not included here.
Rare bird, forest protectors clash with India’s clean energy vision
A conservationist wants India’s government to bury renewable power lines to protect rare birds. Protesting villagers halt a wind energy project to save their local forest. And farmers stop a solar plant from eating up pastureland. As India forges ahead with ambitious plans to boost its clean energy supply here, the government is facing push-back that highlights the challenges of balancing the competing goals of going green with protecting wildlife and forests. While government authorities argue that shifting India away . . . Complete story »
Installation of windmills: Protesting villagers ‘attack’ police, private firm staffer
A police team and an employee of a private wind energy firm were injured after they were allegedly attacked by residents of Limbala village in Wankaner taluka of Morbi district late on Monday. According to an FIR registered in Wankaner, inspector Batuksinh Sarvaiya, a few policemen and Imtyaz Vora, an employee of Kintech Synergy Private Ltd (KSPL), an Ahmedabad-based wind energy firm, were in the village in connection with the ongoing protests against the installation of windmills in Limbala when . . . Complete story »
Protest against Suzlon windmills in Kutch reignites
The residents of Sangnara, in Nakhatrana taluka of Kutch, Gujarat, have stepped up their protest against the proposed plan of Indian wind turbine manufacturing giant Suzlon Energy Limited’s to install windmills on the forest land near the village. The villagers have again assembled around Vadvalu Talav, located near their village, and blocked the road leading to the foundation laid by Suzlon. “The villagers of Sangnara, who have been blocking the road for the last several days, don’t let the company . . . Complete story »
Gale uproots windmill in Vallioor
Madurai: Vehicle users could not drive against the wind in parts of Vallioor and Kavalkinaru in Tirunelveli district. A wind turbine installation was knocked off by strong winds in a private windmill station at Ambalavanapuram village, Vallioor. In the impact the blades caught fire and was extinguished after an hour and half struggle. Several trees were uprooted and power poles were knocked down in Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari. Farmers were worried about the loss to banana crop loss in . . . Complete story »
Protests in Gujarat against corporate projects that threaten people’s livelihoods and damage the environment
Major public protests in Gujarat in July and August have highlighted people’s growing discontent over the State’s prioritisation of industry over their rights. Four industry giants are in the line of fire from local people’s groups for mining, wind farms and hazardous chemical pollution. On July 5, there was a well-attended protest in south Gujarat’s tribal-dominated Tapi district against Hindustan Zinc’s proposed smelter plant. In accordance with the Centre’s environmental rules, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) organised a public . . . Complete story »
India’s clean energy push: Protests intensify in Kutch over windmill plant on forest land
Residents of Sanganara village of Kutch are spearheading a protest against further installation of windmills on their land, stating that the ecosystem and the livelihoods of farmers on the 500 sq kilometers of sacred groves is threatened by mass energy projects. As India makes its clean energy push to reach its 175 Gigawatt targets before 2022, wind power will account for 60 Gigawatt of the total generated power. As India aims to create a faster push in the process local . . . Complete story »
Kachchh villagers on vigil to save Sangnara forest from a windmill project
Wearing their traditional attire of bright and colourful chaniya-choli, a large number of women from villages in Kachchh district of Gujarat, gathered on the road leading to the Sangnara forest yesterday on August 6. “Jungle bachao” (save trees) read their placards as they marched to stop the construction of pawan chakki (wind mill) in their forest and on their common grazing land. At least 1,000 villagers gathered in protest against the erection of the windmills that are expected to lead . . . Complete story »
Residents of Gujarat village protest against windmills being set up on forestland
Natural resources have been destroyed in Kutch due to clean energy projects. Sangnara, a small village in Kutch, has been trying to save its forests from wind energy companies for the past two years as windmills were being installed on forestland, depriving people of greenery and natural resources. Kutch has been designated as an important wind energy exploitation zone, and in the past few years thousands of windmills have been put up by energy companies, leading to local conflicts in . . . Complete story »
This Gujarat village has been protesting to save the Sangnara Forest from a windmill project
The residents of Sangnara, a small village in f Kutch District of Gujarat have launched a protest against the installation of windmills in a nearby forest, for a renewable energy project. On Friday, a group of villagers occupied land allotted renewable energy firm Suzlon for the project near their village. What’s happening? According to the residents, the company has been expanding its footprint over the years on the land which is part of the community grazing land belonging to the . . . Complete story »
Caught in a maze of deadly power lines, a great Indian bird struggles for survival
When India was choosing its national bird in the early 1960s, the late Dr Salim Ali, the country’s preeminent ornithologist, backed an unlikely candidate – the great Indian bustard (GIB). Its numbers were falling and Dr Ali felt the exalted status would accord one of India’s heaviest flying birds the protection it rightfully deserved. But the choice was shot down as some felt its name, just a vowel away from an expletive, would invite affronts to India’s pride. So it . . . Complete story »
