Wind conference boycotted by Indian wind turbine makers

Members of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers' Association (IWTMA) boycotted a recent event calling itself the Fifth World Wind Energy Conference, held in New Delhi on November 6-8, because it was "personality driven, supported primarily by the German industry," says a spokesman for the association. The conference was organised by a group called the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), which has its headquarters in Germany. Its members include the Indian Wind Energy Association (InWEA). "There are conflicting interests between the organisations," says Anil Kane, president of WWEA and InWEA. "We would like India's wind industry to become 70% indigenous while they want to continue importing technology." With order books full for the next three years, IWTMA members were not keen to spend money on exhibiting, he indicates. "Our exhibition stands would have been three times bigger if they had attended." India's president, Abdul Kalam, used the conference as a platform to renew his commitment to wind power. Installed wind capacity had reached 6053 MW on October 1, an increase of 713 MW since the end of March, he said. According to the president, by 2030, 100,000 MW of renewables capacity could meet 25% of India's energy demand, with wind accounting for much of this. He praised the introduction of the National Tariff Policy in January, requiring State Regulatory Commissions to fix minimum levels for purchase of renewables. So far 12 Indian states have set renewable energy quotas, at prices ranging up to INR 3.97/kWh, or $0.085/kWh (Windpower Monthly, September 2006).