Wind Energy/Wind Power is one facet of the eminent rapid technology/ everlasting renewable energy in the globe. Besides it is one such most economical resource of “Electricity/ Power”. In this topic we discuss about National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) in brief.
Objective & Location:
NIWE (National Institute of Wind Energy) main focus is developing wind energy & assists India to accomplish self-reliant in power sector/energy. In addition to it encourages, guide, organize, and aid research & development programs to attain & preserve cost-friendly technology in wind power plants. It is located in Pallikaranai (Velachery – Tambaram Main Road) at Chennai – 600 100, Tamil Nadu.
About NIWE:
NIWE (National Institute of Wind Energy) is an institute for “Wind Energy Technology”. Furthermore it is an autonomous “Research & Development Institution (R&D)”. This was established at Chennai in 1998 by MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (Government of India)). NIWE is the only foremost institute of its type in India. Beyond it is the only “Testing & Certifying Agency” in the country. Moreover it speeds up wind energy development not only in the country but also in growing & neighboring countries. As a portion it includes “Skill Development & Training” which is a pivotal point to create skilled and trained manpower for wind sector by providing excellent training/learning. NIWE (National Institute of Wind Energy) has a Wind Turbine Test Station (WTTS). It is established at Kayathar in Tamil Nadu.
NIWE’s Services:
NIWE (National Institute of Wind Energy) formerly called as Centre for “Wind Energy Technology”. This institute provides services & seeks to detect complete solutions for the types of challenges & betterment in the whole area of the wind energy sector by implementing forthcoming analysis. NIWE is capable of offering the following services:
- WRMT – Wind Resource Modeling Techniques
- WSS – Wind Speed Statistics & Energy Calculations
- MSWF – Micro-Siting & layout of wind farms
- WRM – Wind Resource Measurement
- WTT- Wind Turbine Technology, Design & Safety requirements
- O & M practices of Wind Farms
Departments/Functions in NIWE (National Institute of Wind Energy)
- WSOM – Wind Solar Resource Measurements & Offshore Division
- SRRA – Solar Radiation Resource Assessment Division
- T & RS – Testing & Research Station Division
- C & IT – Certification & IT Division
- S&T/S&R – Skill Development and Training & Standards and Regulation Division
- R&D – Research & Development Division
- Resource Data Analytics & Forecasting (RDAF) Division.
Topmost Unit’s in NIWE:
NIWE has the following topmost units
- Research & Development Unit
- Wind Resource Assessment Unit
- Testing Unit
- Standards & Certification Unit
Unique Specialities of Courses in NIWE:
On account of the rising demand of eligible manpower in the “Wind Energy” sector both in national/international level there is a need to initiate a Bachelor/ Master level course in wind energy in the universities/colleges/institutions. This may help to get suitable manpower in the wind industry/ universities/research institution/colleges. Apart it trained more than 2000 professionals & coordinates 27 National Training Courses & 39 International Training Courses. It includes
- Internship Program (UG/PG)
- National Training Courses
- International Training Courses
- Short Term Courses
- Upcoming Foundation Courses
Internship Program (UG/PG Students):
Academic Associate Program (AAP) aims to promote students & furnish an opportunity to pick renewable energy as their career choice. So as to create consciousness & engrossment in the field of renewable energy research among the young skilled “Management & Engineering” students. NIWE conduct Internship Program for qualified candidates like B.E. / B.Tech / M.E. / M.Tech / MS / M.Sc / MBA / M.Com/ MCA/ B.Com/ BBA /B.Sc/ M.Sc (minimum 60%). The duration of the Internship Program will be two weeks to six months. It includes domains like Mechanical design and analysis, Wind turbine Blade aerodynamics, Power system & power quality, Power electronics, Meteorology Machine Learning, Data communication & networks, Signal Processing & communications, Wind power forecasting & Software tool development, Research in wind resource assessment, Solar energy & Solar power forecasting, Energy storage , Finance, Administration, Management , Embedded systems & H/W development, Structural engineering etc.
National Training Courses:
More or less 27 “National Training Courses” are organized by NIWE. Some of them are as follows:
- At first national training course was started October 2004 on the topic “Wind Farm Development & Related Issues” from October 14 to October 15
- Additionally national training course 2nd was organized on the syllabus “Fundamentals of Wind Turbine Technologies” from March 10 to March 11 in 2005
- Further national training course 7th was arranged on the title “Fundamentals of Wind Energy” from May 8 to May 29 in 2009
- Moreover national training course 23rd was held on the topic “Wind Energy Technology” from March 11 to March 15 in the year 2019
- Forthcoming national training Course 28th will be conducted on or after Oct 2020 because of lockdown in all states
International Training Courses:
Likewise National Training Courses NIWE also conducted “International Training Courses”. It includes
- First level International training course was started during February 2004 on the topic “Wind Turbine Technology & Applications” from Feb 9 to Feb 20
- Special International training course was held on December 2004 on the syllabus “Renewable Energy Options” from Dec 6 to Dec 18
- Special International training course was held on November 2016 on the topic “Wind Resource Assessment & Wind Farm Planning” from Nov 7 to Nov 18
- Special International training course was held on October & November 2017 on the title “Design, Installation & Maintenance of Small Wind Turbine” from Oct 25 to Nov 10
- Twenty Fifth International training course was held on January & February 2020 on the title “Wind Turbine Technology & Applications” from Jan 29 to Feb 25
Short Term Courses:
National Institute of Wind Energy also conducted two short term courses for technicians & operators in collaboration with IWPA (Indian Wind Power Association) at Tirunelveli & Coimbatore on November & December 2003.
Upcoming Foundation Courses (Vayumitra):
The “Vayumitra Foundation Course” target to cover an utter overview about all key concepts of “Wind Energy Technology”. The “Vayumitra Foundation Course” arranged to fulfill the needs of jobless persons with rural base. Eligibilities of the candidate’s like Bachelor’s Degree (Electrical, Electronics, Civil, Mechanical) – Under Age 25, Master’s Degree (Engineering, Science, Wind Energy) – Under Age 30. Owing to Covid-19 the training courses (July) postponed to October/November. Furthermore the course is totally free which is sponsored by MNRE. Also Course Certificate (successfully completed), Registration Kit, & Course Material will be provided to candidates. The source person for these courses is Engineers/ Scientists from NIWE (National Institute of Wind Energy). The interested participants will download the “Registration Form” from the following link https://bit.ly/2W2LY3y & fill that form and send to niwe.vayumitra@gmail.com with required proof. Only 35 applicants are allowed for single course. It includes the following 10 courses:
- Fundamental facet of Wind Power & Technology
- Installation of Wind Turbine Generator
- Wind Resource Assessment
- Wind Turbine Components
- Design of Wind Farm
- Installation of Wind Farm
- Grid Integration,
- O & M facets of Wind Farm
- Government policies & Schemes
- Hybrid Systems
Careers in NIWE:
Student/ Person who have completed M.Sc (Wind Energy, Electrical &Electronics) or Bachelor’s/ Master’s Degree in Engineering/ Technology/ have great career options for several posts such as AAO (Administrative and Accounts Officer), Scientist, Consultant, Junior Engineers, Project Assistants, Project Engineers and Steno Typist etc.
Steps to Apply for NIWE Post
- Initially visit NIWE official website www.niwe.res.in
- Examine NIWE for Recruitment/ Career
- Find the latest jobs notification
- Undergo the Recruitment/ Career instructions carefully
- Finally attend the Walk-In Interview along with essential documents
Awards Achieved by NIWE:
- National Institute of Wind Energy has been awarded “Special Institution Recognition Award” in 2008 by “Wind India”
- In the year 2015 NIWE got “Bid Award Geneva 2015 Gold Category” at Switzerland for International Quality
- World CSR Day & World Sustainability gives “Africa Education Leadership Award” in 2015 for NIWE
- In the year 2016 NIWE got “Education Leadership Award” by ABP
- It achieved “National E-governance Award 2018 to 2019” for the project “Wind power forecasting for the whole state of Tamil Nadu” by Academic Research Institutions.
- Besides it achieves “Best Performing State Nodal Agencies”, “Best Institution of Higher Learning in Wind Energy” & “Best Research Work in Wind Energy” awards in 2018 to 2019 by “IREDA”
As reported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Tamil Nadu produced 10,147.1 million units of power in the year 2014 to 2015 from wind energy. In 2015 to 2016 it produced 7,273.23 million units of power. Although in 2016-17 it increased with 11,935 million units. As well as Tamil Nadu stands 5th terms of installed Wind Power capacity about 8.75% (22644.63 MW) on Feb 2015 throughout the world. Presently Tamil Nadu is the topmost producer in “Wind Power Generations”.
By J. Vaisali, 29 Years, Sivakasi
