In Q2 2024, India added 770 MW of wind energy capacity, which is a 32% decrease compared to the 1,139.9 MW added in Q2 2023, according to Mercom India Research. This decline was primarily due to delays in granting grid connectivity, land availability issues, right-of-way challenges, and the early onset of the monsoon in some states.
Karnataka led the capacity additions with 450 MW, followed by Tamil Nadu with 186 MW, Gujarat with 130 MW, and Maharashtra with 4.2 MW. Despite the quarterly drop, the cumulative installed wind capacity in India rose to 46.6 GW by the end of June 2024.
During Q2 2024, several notable wind energy projects were commissioned in India. Juniper Green’s 25.2 MW Wind Power Project in Gujarat. ReNew Power and a few other companies also commissioned significant capacities during this period.
As of the end of Q2 2024, India's cumulative installed wind energy capacity reached 46.6 GW. This represents a 1.7% increase from the 45.9 GW recorded at the end of March 2024.
Wind energy projects in India face several challenges. Securing land for wind farms can be difficult due to high land costs, legal disputes, and opposition from local communities. Delays in obtaining grid connectivity approvals and inadequate transmission infrastructure can hinder project timeliness.
Besides these, frequent changes in policies and regulations, along with the shift to auction-based tariffs, have created uncertainty and slowed down project implementation.
By 2030, India aims to achieve a cumulative installed wind energy capacity of 140 GW. However, experts suggest that a more realistic target might be around 100 GW by the end of the decade.
In June, Indian government approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme to support the development of offshore wind energy projects. The scheme has a total outlay of ₹7,453 crore, which includes ₹6,853 crore for the installation and commissioning of 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects (500 MW each off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu) and ₹600 crore for upgrading two ports to meet the logistics requirements.
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