MNRE proposes draft certification scheme for Indian wind turbines

Recently the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy in consultation with National Institute of Wind Energy Chennai prepared a draft certification scheme incorporating various guidelines under “Indian Wind Turbine Certification Scheme (IWTCS).” The IWTCS is a consolidation of relevant National & International guidelines. The document also contains various best practices from other countries to ensure the quality of the wind energy projects. The scheme is envisaged to assist & facilitate OEMs, End-users, Utilities, SNAs, developers, IPPs, owners, investors, certification bodies and testing laboratories. The document is open for comments from stakeholders till 5th December 2018.
Wind sector in India is growing at a rapid pace with increased utilization of wind energy for the power development, The modern wind turbines have higher hub heights, larger rotor diameter, higher capacity, and improved CUF along with technological improvements. The IWTCS is a consolidation of relevant National and International Standards (IS/IEC/IEEE), Technical Regulations and requirements issued by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), guidelines issued by MNRE and other international guidelines. The Scheme enlists the guidelines for the benefit of all the stakeholders from concept to lifetime of a wind turbine, including Indian Type Approved Model (ITAM), Indian Type Certification Scheme (ITCS), Wind Farm Project Certification Scheme (WFPCS) and Wind Turbine Safety & Performance Certification Scheme (WTSPCS).
The IWTCS defines certification system guidelines for wind turbines that comprise of Prototype Certification and Type Certification; Project Certification, Failure reporting of installed wind turbines, Safety and Performance assessment and De-commissioning & Safe Disposal of the wind turbine/wind turbine projects installed onshore and offshore. It specifies guidelines for carrying out conformity evaluation of wind turbines and wind farms, with respect to specific standards and other technical requirements, relating to safety, reliability, performance, testing, and interaction with electrical power networks.
The new guidelines are expected to bring better evaluation standards for wind turbines & wind farms in the country in terms of technical requirements, relating to safety, reliability, performance, testing, certification, and interaction with electrical power networks