Former MSU VC Anil Kane bags World Wind Energy award
VADODARA: Former vice-chancellor of M S University (MSU) Anil Kane has bagged the World Wing Energy Award 2014 that recognizes his contributions as one of the pioneers of wind power in India, Asia and worldwide.
The board of the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) had decided to confer the award on Kane on the occasion of the 13th World Wind Energy Conference 2014 in Shanghai. Kane received the award on Tuesday.
It is worth mentioning here that Kane is presently chairman emeritus of the Indian Wind Energy Association and president emeritus of WWEA in which he was president between 2005 and 2011.
“In the early 1980s, when hardly anybody understood the huge potential of wind power, Kane started working for wind and personally invested in wind turbines by putting up the first commercial wind farm in Gujarat. This wind farm is still in operation without any trouble for the last 30 years,” a release from WWEA mentioned.
With total installed wind power capacity estimated at 20,000 MW, India stands fourth globally in terms of installed wind power capacity. “But China which was far behind India has now overtaken emerging as world’s frontrunners with 80,000 MW installed capacity,” Kane, who in his capacity as WWEA president has traveled across the globe and advised countries on all continents on their national wind power strategies told TOI.
He, however, added that wind power in India now contributes four times compared to power generated from atomic energy.
“Also, Gujarat’s share has increased considerably with total 2,500 Mw installed capacity in the state. Gujarat is second only to Tamil Nadu which has an installed capacity of nearly 8,000 MW in India’s wind energy sector,” he said.
“Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka are the main contributors in the growth of India’s wind energy sector. The movement is also picking up in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh,” he said.
“The reason Tamil Nadu has attracted more wind power projects are because the state benefits from the dual monsoon season of Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. A one MW project in Gujarat can generate nearly 18 to 20 lakh units of electricity in a year but the same project in Tamil Nadu generates around 35 lakh units of electricity a year,” he said.
