Solar + Wind energy to be the future trend

This article talks about the future potentials of small wind turbines in India. It further emphasises on investments and regulatory assistance to intensify the demand for wind turbines in India.

India’s wind energy sector is led by indigenous renewable and wind energy. Expansions in the wind energy sector has created a strong ecosystem and expanded manufacturing capabilities to generate 10,000 MW of renewable energy per annum.

The government has set an ambitious target of 175GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022, which calls for current wind capacity to nearly double within the next two years, totalling 60GW of onshore wind and 5GW of offshore wind.

Present market trends for wind turbines

We primarily deal with the small wind turbines market, but we entirely realise the significance of wind sector and the lied potentials for big wind turbines in the industry. Even the government has been making attempts to boost the market for wind turbines, big wind turbines mainly. The present trends and the push definitely foray the future potentials for big wind turbines market in India.

Latest technology trends in small wind turbines

Firstly, small wind turbines is a very niche market. So far, there are no big players or any big companies who have come forward in a big way to promote the small wind turbines. This is not just in India, but across the world, no notable promotions have been seen so far to promote the small wind turbines. Since there are no specific government policies or any regulations that aims at educating the customers and increase the awareness for small wind turbines. So, we from Archimedes, are doing a lot of campaigns and other affirmative activities to educate the customers on small wind turbines. This further makes the market for small wind turbines more niche and ignored.

Today, solar and wind is turning out to be a new trend in the industry. Interestingly, rooftop solar market is expanding gradually. At many places, urban and semi urban areas, people have started installing rooftop solar to have self-generated energy for their consumption. Customers for solar rooftop are even looking for enhanced capacities, but they don’t have the space to accommodate the additional capacities. This is why rooftop solar segment is coming to the small wind turbines manufacturers for adding up and installing systems to store additional capacities to their rooftop solar. This is one of the significant changes happening in the wind turbines sector.

Required regulatory assistance

When we talk about assistance, I think solar rooftop segment already has some key regulations, like the government subsidiaries available with various state governments. If that sort of subsidy is availed for wind turbines market also, then definitely we can enhance the potentials and the revenue generation from the wind turbines market.

In India, we have very few manufacturers for small wind turbines even for manufacturing up to 50 kW. There are barely only six or seven manufacturers of small wind turbines in India. Here, the government has to play the key role in transforming the entire scenario for the small wind turbines manufacturing by creating and brining some regulations and policies to encourage the manufacturers and allocate some subsidies to het wind consumers, then surely the market will expand further. This will further pave ways to develop technologies and designs for the wind turbines market.

Another important thing to see is, among the available players of the small wind turbine market in India, two or three of the available manufacturers have installed latest technologies; while the rest of them are still using three blade turbines. This technology and design cannot be used for rooftop wind turbines, we need new and enhanced design technologies.

Challenges towards installation

Changing size and capacities realigning the demand

Archimedes as a company, have technologies from Korean company and other technologies from the Indian government’s National Aeronautics Limited, one of the CSIR Laboratories, and we own the technologies from these two companies. So, in this the first size what we talk about the Korean technologies that are Archimedes screw-type wind turbines, where our maximum capacity is 1 kW. This is because we primarily focus on the urban wind and rooftop winds. Our design is also our turbine design is also made to exactly if we need to the rooftop winds, field winds. And we cannot go beyond the design of it and hence our capacity is limited to 1 kW was far as Archimedes is design is concerned.

But the second design that we hold from National Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore, which is a government of India Company, there we have a capacity from 1 kW to 50 kW. So, if you see, one small design wind turbines – of 1kW, comes at a diameter of 1.5 meter and weighs around 250 Kg.

Combination of solar and wind energy

Archimedes is presently coming out with Hybrid systems only. We don’t want sell exclusively the wind turbines, which is a combination of wind and solar energy. The basic advantage of this combination is, when you have wind, the solar will charge the batteries on solar energy. So, you will have a continuity in your power production.

Secondly, you can minimise the cost factor because most of the electronics can be integrated together. So far, there are no companies that offer such a combination. The offer usually contains two different systems for solar and wind power and put them together. But Archimedes is coming up single system with solar and wind. We will combine both wind turbine and solar panels to make a single electronic part and a hybrid system. This system can be termed as a microgrid systems that can be affordable and installed by every household.

Our entire focus at this moment is on creating such microgrids. If you see closely, many apartment, residential complex have a generator or UPS system installed, here our small micro grid system will integrate all these things together in single electronics and making micro grid for a house.

Future potentials for solar plus wind energy in India

The combination of solar plus wind energy carry a huge potential of creating a model market in India. So, as we have seen and experienced the kind of potential solar energy and wind energy holds. Solar energy has already reached its maximum capacities on the rooftop solar segment.

Wind is the new kid in the market, and it is expected to turn out to be a huge market as it does have all the potentials to shape up as a huge potential market available in the industry. Solar + Wind energy is going to the future trend.

Authored by: Surya Prakash Gajjalla, CEO, Archimede Green Energy.