Tapping the wind market

Engineers Australia
March, 2008 Page: 45

Roaring 40s, a company formed in 2005 through a partnership between energy companies Hydro Tasmania and the China Light & Power (CLP) Group, is a renewable energy developer in Asia and Oceania, with a planned generating capacity of 1000MW by 2010. The company currently has 13 sites in operation or in planning in Australia, New Zealand, China and India.

As part of its growing portfolio in Asia, developments are well under way for the company to establish a strong presence in India. The company already has an office in Mumbai and has been gaining a strong understanding of local market conditions and different regulatory environments. Roaring 40s managing director Mark Kelleher has pointed out that India is one of the global leaders in embracing wind energy and that the company is "very pleased to be working to help India achieve its renewable energy targets."

The Indian wind market has historically been driven by tax investment through accelerated tax depreciation. It has been dominated by local turbine manufacturers and the formidable challenge of land procurement has often made it an unattractive proposition for foreign developers. However, Roaring 40s has become a pioneer in this market and it now owns the 50.4MW Khandke Wind Farm.

Last month, Paul Fulton, Roaring 40s' technical services manager; Silke Schwartz, senior renewable energy consultant with Hydro Tasmania; and I visited India to provide engineering support to the Mumbai office, and review technical data and assessments for the contract negotiations of two wind turbine proposals.

During the technical evaluation we visited both manufacturing facilities and operating wind assets, while resources workers on the nacelle of a wind turbine during inspection at Dulia back in Hobart analysed the site selection and wind data. Contract negotiations were then handled by Mahesh Makhija, Roaring 40s' Indian business head, and Avinash Rao, a representative from CLP India.

So what do Australian engineers have to offer in this diverse and challenging development environment? Firstly, external personnel are often well positioned to offer independent engineering appraisals, delivering engineering context, with reference to the more established markets of Australia and, via association, Europe. Secondly, while presenting many opportunities, entry into the Indian market also carries a responsibility to demand sustainable development, especially given the relative lack of regulative requirements.