The Little Wind Energy Center that Could

Dr. S. Gomathinayagam, CWET's director, in front of the solar panel carport.

While in South India a few months ago I had the chance to visit the charming offices of the Centre for Wind Energy Technology, the Indian government’s brain trust on wind power. The headquarters is a clean-energy oasis in the middle of a disheartening landscape of concrete-block houses and potholed roads, a gust of hope for something cleaner than the smoggy air that many Indians have to endure these days.

My guide was Dr. S. Gomathinayagam, the head of the institute. (See him on YouTube here.) From a massive desk flanked by a table that holds various awards his agency has won — some of them in the shape of wind turbines — he directs efforts to understand India’s “wind resource,” certify that turbines meet certain standards, and help to train the next generation of wind engineers.

Wind power is becoming a pretty big deal in India. The country is the world’s 5th-largest wind energy producer and is home to Suzlon, one of the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturers. Of the 17 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy that India is now producing, 13 GW come from wind. (But with India’s gross production of electricity approaching 600,000 GW, wind is still a tiny player.)

India's wind power map. Source: CWET

One of CWET’s most important jobs is to figure out where the wind blows best and how much energy might be harvested from it. The agency produced this map  to guide the siting of wind turbines. To date they have identified 233 sites of which 90 percent have been built. Further developments may require moving offshore.

But the most engaging thing about a visit to CWET is the proud but ramshackle feel that is unmistakably Indian. After the security guard solemnly directed me to sign into the guest book, I was led to the main building. Towering over it were two smallish wind turbines, partners to the windmill by the street that pumps water. The turbines, along with the solar panels that shade one of the parking areas, produce about 3.5 kilowatt-hours of power at peak output —  not nearly enough to power the building, but perhaps sufficient to supply the three air conditioners that keep Dr. Gomathinayagam’s office a little too chilly.

A wind turbine spins above the headquarters of CWET in Chennai, India.

By the entrance to CWET is an educational room for groups of schoolkids that has little models of how wind turines work. In the large, empty hallway outside, a group of cleaner-women in saris assemble bunches of straw into hand brooms. By the back exit, an “acoustic wind profiler” chirps every few seconds; the sound waves that bounce back reveal how strongly the wind blows. Surrounding it is an extensive garden of corn, and papaya and banana trees, kept by and for the employees of CWET. If a sanctuary of clean energy exists in India, this little campus may be it.