Centre of Excellence in Wind Energy

            The Aeronautical Engineering Department is preparing a proposal for setting up the above centre for the creation of qualified/trained manpower to design and develop small wind turbine blading technology to maintain the country’s Wind Farms which provide more than ten percent of the country’s electrical power. The proposal is for setting up the centre which will establish courses at Post Graduate and Post Graduate Diploma level. The existing facilities such as Wind tunnels, Structures lab, and Strength of Materials lab will be made available for the above programme. The other facilities such as blade manufacturing, dynamic balancing, Generator and gear box testing will be established specifically for the course.
            The college will engage visiting Professors, in addition to the staff members who are available for conducting the above programmes. Students from abroad will also be inducted into the above course.

• Areas in which adequately trained and qualified manpower will be made available are
  Wind Farm Management
  Design and Engineering Needs
  Research and Development
• Vital hands-on training at a number of wind farms near Coimbatore will be arranged.
• An educational wind farm will be specially established by the college.
• Principal Coordinator – Professor Dr. A. P. Haran, Head, Aeronautical Department, PCET

 

Advisory Board of the Centre

	Professor S. Soundaranayagam	.	Chairman
	Dr. J. J. Isaac, Advisor, NAL	.	Member
	Air Vice Marshal (Retd) T.K. Sesachari, Director Aero Studies, PCET	.	Member
	Dr,S.Gomathinayagam, Executive Director, C-WET, Chennai	.	Member
	Nominee of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India	.	Member
	Professor Dr.A.P.Haran, Head, Aeronautical Department, PCET	.	Convener and Ex-officio Principal coordinator of the Centre

Proposed Linkages/Interaction in Wind Energy


• Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET), Chennai
• National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore
• World Institute of Sustainable Energy, Pune
• Indian Wind Energy Association, New Delhi
• Indian Wind Power Association, Chennai
• Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association, Chennai

Societal Impact

• Tamil Nadu is No. 1 in India in wind power generation. It is only fitting that this Centre be located in Coimbatore district, the nerve centre of these activities.
• To support the aggressive Indian Power Policy, it is essential that large pools of adequately trained manpower, capable of installing, operating and manufacturing wind turbines, be made readily available (particularly in Tamil Nadu) to fuel the Indian wind energy sector.
• Such a goal will have tremendous societal impacts on the employment generation benefits, particularly of the weaker sections, and consequently on the economic as a whole.
• It will create adequate opportunities for the training for the local manpower.
• Special preference will be given to ex-serviceman. They could be trained to successfully undertake the operation and maintenance of the wind turbines, which is essentially an outdoor activity.