Wind power in India

Wind power generation capacity in India has significantly increased in recent years. As of 29 February 2020 the total installed wind power capacity was 37.669 GW, the fourth largest installed wind power capacity in the world.[2][3] Wind power capacity is mainly spread across the Southern, Western and Northern regions.[4]

Mean wind speed in India.[1]

Wind power costs in India are decreasing rapidly.[5] The levelised tariff of wind power reached a record low of ₹2.43 (3.4¢ US) per kWh (without any direct or indirect subsidies) during auctions for wind projects in December 2017.[6][7][8] In December 2017, union government announced the applicable guidelines for tariff-based wind power auctions to bring more clarity and minimise the risk to the developers.[9]

Wind farms midst paddy fields in India.

Installed capacity

The table below shows the India's year on year installed wind power, annual wind power generation and annual growth in wind power generation since 2006.[10]

Installed wind power capacity and generation in India since 2007

Financial year	06-07	07-08	08-09	09-10	10-11	11-12	12-13	13-14	14-15	15-16	16-17	17-18	18-19[11]	19-20
Installed capacity (MW)	7,850	9,587	10,925	13,064	16,084	18,421	20,150	22,465	23,447	26,777	32,280	34,046	35,626	37,669
Generation (GWh)									28,214	28,604	46,011	52,666	62,036	64,485

History

Installed Wind Power Capacity

Fiscal	Year End Cumulative Capacity (in MW)
2005	6,270
2006	7,850
2007	9,587
2008	10,925
2009	13,064
2010	16,084
2011	18,421
2012	20,149
2013	21,264
2014	23,354
2015	26,769
2016	32,280
2017	34,046
2018	35,626

Development of wind power in India began in December 1952, when Maneklal Sankalchand Thacker, a distinguished power engineer, initiated a project with the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to explore the possibilities of harnessing wind power in the country.[12] The CSIR established a Wind Power Sub-Committee under P. Nilakantan, which was assigned the task of investigating the available resources that could be practically utilized, along with researching the economic possibilities of wind energy.[13] With assistance from the Indian Meteorological Department, the Sub-Committee extensively reviewed available data on surface winds in India and their velocity duration, and began detailed surveys of promising sites for harnessing the optimum amount of wind energy; it also successfully developed and tested large wood-and-bamboo windmills.

In September 1954, a Symposium on Solar Energy and Wind Power organised by the CSIR and UNESCO was held in New Delhi; among the attendees was E. W. Golding, a British power engineer and authority on wind energy generation.[12] Convinced of the potential of wind power in India, he recommended continued and extensive wind velocity surveys in different regions of India, the full-time assignment of staff to experimental wind power studies, the establishment of a dedicated research laboratory and development of small to medium-sized wind-powered electrical generators. Golding's recommendations were adopted by the CSIR in 1957.[12] By this time, regions of Saurashtra and around Coimbatore had been identified as promising sites for generating electricity from wind power, and the Wind Power Sub-Committee had begun to erect 20 wind velocity survey stations across India, in addition to testing its indigenously designed windmills and obtaining a 6 kw. Allgaier wind turbine, which was presented to India by the West German government; experiments at Porbandar with the latter had commenced by 1961.[13][12] The Indian government also considered a proposal to erect over 20,000 small to medium-sized wind-powered electrical generators in rural districts, to be used for powering water pumps and supplying electricity for remotely situated structures such as lighthouses.[13]

In 1960, the CSIR established a Wind Power Division as part of the new National Aeronautical Laboratory (NAL) in Bangalore, which was founded that year.[12] From the 1960s into the 1980s, the NAL and other groups continued to carry out wind velocity surveys and develop improved estimates of India's wind energy capacity.[14] Large-scale development of wind power began in 1985 with the first wind project in Veraval, Gujarat, in the form of a 40-kW Dutch machine (make Polenko) connected to the grid. The project, an initiative of late Dr. K S Rao, the then Director of GEDA (Gujarat Energy Development Agency), was a joint venture between GEDA and J K Synthetics Ltd. Though the performance of this machine was quite poor, it established the technical viability of operating wind turbines in the grid-connected mode in India. Subsequently, the Government of India planned several demonstration wind farms in the coastal regions of the country and simultaneously launched a massive programme to identify sites suitable for wind projects. In 1986, demonstration wind farms were set up in the coastal areas of Maharashtra (Ratnagiri), Gujarat (Okha) and Tamil Nadu (Tirunelveli) with 55 kW Vestas wind turbines. These demonstration projects were supported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The demonstration projects set up in 1985-86 established beyond doubt, both the technical and economic viability of the wind energy projects, while the wind-mapping programme resulted in the identification of many sites suitable for wind power projects (C-WET 2001; Mani 1990, 1992, 1994; Mani and Mooley 1983).

The potential for wind farms in the country was first assessed in 2011 to be more than 2,000 GW by Prof. Jami Hossain of TERI University, New Delhi.[15] This was subsequently re-validated by Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, US (LBNL) in an independent study in 2012. As a result, the MNRE set up a committee to reassess the potential[16] and through the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE, previously C-WET) has announced a revised estimation of the potential wind resource in India from 49,130 MW to 302,000 MW assessed at 100 m hub height.[17] Wind turbines are now being set up at even 120 m hub height and the wind resource at higher hub heights of around 120 m or more that are prevailing is possibly even more.

In 2015, the MNRE set the target for Wind Power generation capacity by the year 2022 at 60,000 MW.[2][18]

East and North east regions have no grid connected wind power plant as of December 2017.

No offshore wind farm is under implementation as of December 2017.[19] However, an Offshore Wind Policy was announced in 2015 and presently weather stations and LIDARs are being set up by NIWE at some locations.[20] The first offshore wind farm is planned near Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu.[21]

Electricity generation

Wind power accounts for nearly 10% of India's total installed power generation capacity and generated 62.03 TWh in the fiscal year 2018-19, which is nearly 4% of total electricity generation.[22] The capacity utilisation factor is nearly 19.33% in the fiscal year 2018-19 (16% in 2017-18, 19.62% in 2016-17 and 14% in 2015-16). 70% of annual wind generation is during the five months duration from May to September coinciding with Southwest monsoon duration. In India, solar power is complementary to wind power as it is generated mostly during the non monsoon period in daytime.[23]

Monthly Electricity Generation in India April, 2018 - March, 2019[24]

Month	North	West	South	East	North East	Total (GWh)
April 2018	552.54	1,604.27	1,165.93	-	-	3,322.74
May 2018	587.60	2,481.92	1,371.58	-	-	4,441.09
June 2018	1,035.61	3,461.16	3,827.89	12.28	-	8,336.94
July 2018	950.36	4,011.23	6,403.68	-	-	11,365.27
August 2018	910.12	3,730.76	7,129.62	1.15	-	11,771.66
September 2018	600.53	1,778.12	3,708.99	5.70	-	6,093.34
October 2018	209.39	744.69	1,864.79	3.91	-	2,789.24
November 2018	184.31	760.81	1,232.00	3.91	-	2,181.03
December 2018	283.01	1,333.62	1,163.33	9.29	-	2,789.24
January 2019	312.56	1,233.13	1,296.29	9.91	-	2,851.89
February 2019	385.01	1,313.14	1,384.07	12.25	-	3,094.47
March 2019	392.77	1,477.50	1,083.57	12.10	-	2,965.93
Total (GWh)	6,403.79	23,930.36	31,631.72	70.50	-	62,036.38

Wind power by state

Muppandal Wind farm near NH44

Muppandal wind farm in Tamil Nadu

There is a growing number of wind energy installations in states across India.

Installed wind capacity by state as of 31 October 2019[25][4]

State	Total Capacity (MW)
Tamil Nadu	9231.77
Gujarat	7203.77
Maharashtra	4794.13
Karnataka	4753.40
Rajasthan	4299.73
Andhra Pradesh	4077.37[26]
Madhya Pradesh	2519.89
Telangana	128.10
Kerala	62.50
Others	4.30
Total	37090.03

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu's wind power capacity is around 29% of India's total. The Government of Tamil Nadu realized the importance and need for renewable energy, and set up a separate Agency, as registered society, called the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) as early as 1985. Now, Tamil Nadu has become a leader in Wind Power in India. In Muppandal windfarm the total capacity is 1500 MW, the largest wind power plant in India. The total wind installed capacity in Tamil Nadu is 7633 MW.[27] During the fiscal year 2014-15, the electricity generation is 9.521 GWh, with about a 15% capacity utilization factor.[28]

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is one of the prominent states that installed wind power projects second to Tamil Nadu in India. As of end of March 2016, installed wind power capacity is 4655.25 MW . As of now there are 50 developers registered with state nodal agency "Maharashtra energy Development Agency" for development of wind power projects. All the major manufacturers of wind turbines including ReNew Power, Suzlon, Vestas, Gamesa, Regen, Leitner Shriram have presence in Maharashtra.

Gujarat

Gujarat government's focus on tapping renewable energy has led to sharp rise in the wind power capacity in the last few years. According to official data, wind power generations capacity in the state has increased a staggering ten times in last six years. Gujarat have 16% of total capacity of country. ONGC Ltd. has installed a 51MW wind energy farm at Bhuj in Gujarat. Renewable energy projects worth a massive Rs 1 lakh crore of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2017.[29]

Rajasthan

4298 MW wind power plant has been installed in Rajasthan.

Madhya Pradesh

In consideration of unique concept, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh has sanctioned another 15 MW project to Madhya Pradesh Windfarms Ltd. MPWL, Bhopal at Nagda Hills near Dewas under consultation from Consolidated Energy Consultants Ltd. CECL Bhopal. All the 25 WEGs have been commissioned on 31.03.2008 and under successful operation.[30]

Kerala

55 MW production of wind power is installed in Kerala. The first wind farm of the state was set up in 1997 at Kanjikode in Palakkad district.

The agency has identified 16 sites for setting up wind farms through private developers.

Odisha

Odisha a coastal state has higher potential for wind energy. Current installation capacity stands at 2.0 MW. Odisha has a windpower potential of 1700MW. The Govt of Odisha is actively pursuing to boost Wind power generation in the state. however it has not progressed like other states primarily because Odisha having a huge coal reserve and number of existing and upcoming thermal power plants, is a power surplus state.[31]

West Bengal

The total installation in West Bengal is 2.10 MW till Dec 2009 at Fraserganj, Distt- South 24 Paraganas. More 0.5 MW (approx) at Ganga Sagar, Kakdwip, Distt - South 24 Paraganas. Both the project owned by West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA), Govt. of WB and project was executed on turnkey basis by Utility Powertech Limited (UPL).

Kashmir

The union territory of Ladakh and its Kargil district are potential wind energy areas, which are yet to be exploited.[17] Wind Speeds are higher during the winter months in Ladakh, which is complementary to the hydro power available during the summer months from the snow melt water. Being a Himalayan region located at higher altitude, the heating energy requirements are high which can be met by the renewable energy resources such as wind, solar and hydro power. The union territory is yet to open its account in grid connected wind power installations.

Projects

India's largest wind power production facilities (10MW and greater)[25][32]

Windmills on the Tirumala hills in Andhra Pradesh

A wind farm in Rajasthan

Wind turbines midst of India's agricultural farms.

Rank	Power plant	Producer	Location	State	MWe
1	Muppandal windfarm[33]	Muppandal Wind	Kanyakumari	Tamil Nadu	1500
2	Jaisalmer Wind Park[34]	Suzlon Energy	Jaisalmer	Rajasthan	1064
3	Brahmanvel windfarm[35]	Parakh Agro Industries	Dhule	Maharashtra	528
4	Dhalgaon windfarm[36]	Gadre Marine Exports	Sangli	Maharashtra	278
5	Vankusawade Wind Park	Suzlon Energy Ltd.	Satara District.	Maharashtra	259
6	Vaspet	ReNew Power	Vaspet	Maharashtra	144
7	Tuljapur	Siemens Gamesa, ReNew Power	Osmanabad	Maharashtra	126
8	Beluguppa Wind Park	Orange Renewable	Beluguppa	Andhra Pradesh	100.8
9	Mamatkheda Wind Park	Orange Renewable	Mamatkheda	Madhya Pradesh	100.5
10	Anantapur Wind Park	Orange Renewable	Nimbagallu	Andhra Pradesh	100
11	Damanjodi Wind Power Plant	Suzlon Energy Ltd.	Damanjodi	Odisha	99
12	Jath	ReNew Power	Jath	Maharashtra	84
13	Welturi	ReNew Power	Welturi	Maharashtra	75
14	Acciona Tuppadahalli	Tuppadahalli Energy India Pvt Ltd	Chitradurga District	Karnataka	56.1
15	Dangiri Wind Farm	Oil India Ltd.	Jaiselmer	Rajasthan	54
16	Bercha Wind Park	Orange Renewable	Ratlam	Madhya Pradesh	50
17	Cape Comorin	Aban Loyd Chiles Offshore Ltd.	Kanyakumari	Tamil Nadu	33
18	Kayathar Subhash	Subhash Ltd.	Kayathar	Tamil Nadu	30
19	Jasdan	NTPC LTD.	Jasdan	Gujarat	25.0
20	Ramakkalmedu	Subhash Ltd.	Ramakkalmedu	Kerala	25
21	Gudimangalam	Gudimangalam Wind Farm	Gudimangalam	Tamil Nadu	21
22	Shalivahana Wind	Shalivahana Green Energy. Ltd.	Tirupur	Tamil Nadu	20.4[37]
23	Puthlur RCI	Wescare (India) Ltd.	Puthlur	Andhra Pradesh	20
24	Lamda Danida	Danida India Ltd.	Lamba	Gujarat	15
25	Chennai Mohan	Mohan Breweries & Distilleries	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	15
26	Shah Gajendragarh	MMTCL	Gadag	Karnataka	15
27	Jamgudrani MP	MP Windfarms Ltd.	Dewas	Madhya Pradesh	14
28	Jogmatti BSES	BSES Ltd.	Chitradurga District	Karnataka	14
29	Perungudi Newam	Newam Power Company Ltd.	Perungudi	Tamil Nadu	12
30	Kethanur Wind Farm	Kethanur Wind Farm	Kethanur	Tamil Nadu	11
31	Shah Gajendragarh	Sanjay D. Ghodawat	Gadag	Karnataka	10.8
32	Hyderabad TSRTC	Telangana SRTC	Hyderabad	Telangana	10
33	Muppandal Madras	Madras Cements Ltd.	Muppandal	Tamil Nadu	10
34	Poolavadi Chettinad	Chettinad Cement Corp. Ltd.	Poolavadi	Tamil Nadu	10

Offshore wind power plants

India has an offshore wind energy potential of around 70 GW in parts along the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.[38]

India started planning in 2010 to enter into offshore wind power,[39] and a 100 MW demonstration plant located off the Gujarat coast began planning in 2014.[40] In 2013, a consortium (instead of group of organizations), led by Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) started project FOWIND (Facilitating Offshore Wind in India) to identify potential zones for development of off-shore wind power in India and to stimulate R & D activities in this area.[41] The other consortium partners include the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), DNV GL, the Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) and the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE). The consortium was awarded the grant of €4.0 million by the delegation of the European Union to India in 2013 besides co-funding support from GPCL. The project action will be implemented from December 2013 to March 2018.

The project focuses on the States of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for identification of potential zones for development through techno-commercial analysis and preliminary resource assessment. It will also establish a platform for structural collaboration and knowledge sharing between stakeholders from European Union and India, on offshore wind technology, policy, regulation, industry and human resource development. FOWIND activities will also help facilitate a platform to stimulate offshore wind related R&D activities in the country. The consortium published initial pre-feasibility assessment reports for offshore wind farm development in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu on 16 June 2015.[42][43] In September 2015, the India's cabinet has approved the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy. With this, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been authorized as the Nodal Ministry for use of offshore areas within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)[44]

India seems pacing up rapidly towards offshore wind energy development as the Nodal Ministry (MNRE) & Nodal Agency (NIWE) calls with the Expression of Interest (EoI)[45] inviting the bidders for development of first 1000MW commercial scale offshore windfarm in India, near the coast of Gujarat. The EoI published on 16th Apr 2018, specifies the proposed area identified under the FOWIND & FOWPI study funded by European Union. The proposed location of the offshore windfarm could be 23-40km off the coast from the Pipavav port, Gulf of Khambhat. The proposed area covers about 400sq km. The wind measurements & other data collection are under progress under the supervision of NIWE.

See also

Renewable energy in India Electricity sector in India Energy policy of India Solar power in India

List of onshore wind farms Wind turbine design Floating wind turbine Hydroelectric power in India

Biofuel in India Wind power by country Renewable energy by country

References

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2. "Physical Progress (Achievements)". Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, GoI.
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13. "Utilization of Wind Power In India" (PDF). Current Science. 25.6: 180–181. June 1956.
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20. "Offshore Wind Costs Fall Below New Nuclear Plants in U.K." Retrieved 7 January 2018.
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26. "Status of Renewable Energy Power Projects Commissioned in AP State, NREDCAP" (PDF). Retrieved 19 November 2019.
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34. "Jaisalmer windfarm". Retrieved 2 February 2014.
35. "Brahmanvel windfarm (India)". Retrieved 2 February 2014.
36. "Dhalgaon windfarm". Retrieved 2 February 2014.
37. "Shalivahana Green Energy | Bio Mass | Municipal Solid Waste | Wind Energy | Hydel Energy". Shalivahanagroup.com. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
38. "Gujarat and Tamil Nadu Have Offshore Wind Energy Potential of 70 GW: MNRE". Retrieved 8 January 2020.
39. Chadha, Mridul (15 November 2010). "Offshore Wind Energy Coming to India Soon?". cleantechnica.com. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
40. "MOU Signed for First Ever Offshore Wind Power Project in India". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
41. "FOWIND Project". Retrieved 13 August 2015.
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43. R. Srikanth; Sangeetha Kandavel (29 January 2015). "Tapping the offshore wind". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
44. "National Offshore Wind Power Policy 2015". GKToday. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
45. "EoI- First 1000MW commercial scale Offshore Wind farm in India" (PDF). Retrieved 19 April 2018.

External links

• Indian Wind Power - Magazine
• How winds of change could be an alternative to coal
• Energy-hungry India eyes role as "wind superpower"
• Consolidated Energy Consultants Ltd. India
• Wind power in Kerala