Upsetting the Offset - Transnational Institute

Cases
capacity in this segment from the current 10 500 MW as on 31 March 2009 to
20,000 MW in the next five years. The plan is to add 2000 MW every year. The
government plans to attract an investment – mostly from the private sector – to
the tune of 40,000 crore (400 billion) rupees in the next five years to create this
additional capacity. ‘There are about 3000 private investors in this sector already
and the proposed new benefit is likely to attract more investments from them,’
according to a senior government official.
With the forum of electricity regulators adopting the RPS (renewable
purchase standards) on behalf of all states, private investors are likely to get
assured returns for the excess power they generate. Under the RPS, states will
have to commit to buy a certain per cent of their electricity needs from
renewable resources. The key states in the wind sector are Tamil Nadu (with an
installed capacity of 4300 MW), Gujarat (1560 MW), Maharashtra (940 MW),
Karnataka (1327 MW), and Rajasthan (738 MW).That the wind projects in
themselves are extremely lucrative financial propositions is proved by the fact
that a company’s stock prices soar as soon as it announces a wind energy
programme. For instance, the shares of Gujarat NRE Coke soared 8 per cent on
its windmill expansion plan in 2 December 2007; and the stocks of Suzlon, the
biggest wind operator in the country, showed a consistent 3 upswing
throughout the first quarter of 2009.
Notes
" The article has been taken from – Mate N., and S. Ghosh (2009) ‘The CDM Scam: Wind
Power Projects in Karnataka’, Mausam, 1-2(2-5), pp. 30-34.
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