Re: Renewable Energy- india’s built-in advantage
It varies. The quality/strength/uniformity of wind resource at a potential site will translate into how expensive it is.
It also varies country to country. North America and Europe do not yet accept the cheaper Chinese companies who have helped revolutionize wind in China. If they did, the cost would decrease.
If I had to make a broad general statement, I’d say wind is more expensive than natural gas and coal. The industry needs subsidies from the government otherwise projects are simply not viable financially. USA, Canada and most European countires have this inplace in some for or another. The US tax credit is expiring this year and the government has not extended it yet (it has been extended everytime it expires for more than a decade, maybe two) and they probably won’t until the elections even though both parties are for it. But unfortunately the impact is already there with layoffs at wind turbine manufacturing plants and no new orders being signed anywhere in the USA due to lack of confirmation that the tax credit will be extended.
I think the support from governments all around the world is valid… the slight price premium for wind is worth it given it is soo effing green compared to coal and natural gas. It is worth noting that tax credits and subsidies exist in most countries for almost all forms of generation, even the dirty one. But wind usually needs a higher kicker than others to make it work - no doubt about that.
There is no extreme impact on grid stability due to fluctuations. Appropriate electrical standards exist everywhere to control this. Wind will not become the primary resource of energy because of its fluctuations but it can, should and will become an important part of the energy mix.