According to the Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) Global Wind Report, 2022, the Indian wind market outlook for 2022 and 2023 is projected at 3.2 GW and 4.1 GW of onshore wind installations, respectively.

The report highlights that India added 1.45 GW of wind capacity in 2021, a 30% year-over-year (YoY) increase compared to 1.11 GW installed in the previous year, as the country recovered from the pandemic induced lockdowns and supply chain issues in 2020.

The second surge of COVID-19 from April to mid-June 2021 had a notable impact on India’s wind industry. It slowed down the production of wind towers as oxygen supply for industrial processes was diverted to medical requirements. Progress picked up again in the second half of the year.

Various policy measures have helped catalyze recovery and maintain investor interest in the wind market in India, for example, the waiver of inter-state transmission charges (ISTS) for renewables projects commissioned by June 2025, with compliance of must-run status for all renewables projects; innovative auction models for round-the-clock and hybrid generation; and a clean energy trading system.

The report acknowledges India as the prominent upcoming hub in Asia for turbine component manufacturing and exports if supported by enabling duty and concessions regime for wind energy.

The Future of Wind in India

The report states that to meet India’s 2030 target of 140 GW installed wind capacity, the policymakers should examine the vast, untapped onshore and offshore wind resources. Across the country, the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has assessed more than 300 GW of onshore wind potential at 100-meter hub height and nearly 700 GW of onshore wind potential at 120-meter hub height.

The report further adds that India can add substantial wind capacity by repowering older kW-rated wind turbines through suitable repowering policy measures while optimizing the utilization of existing wind-rich and consented sites. Similarly, developing less windy sites by advancing support for suitable wind turbine technology is likely to be beneficial.

The World Bank-Group ESMAP has mapped 174 GW of fixed and floating offshore wind potential off India’s coastline; the most substantial resource is found off Tamil Nadu, while a good resource is also available off Gujarat.

The report recommends preparing a long-term non-solar renewable purchase obligation trajectory specific to offshore wind and offering schemes such as production-linked incentives for domestic offshore wind manufacturing could be considered. Apart from this, a growing pool of innovative financing mechanisms such as blended finance and green bonds are likely to boost the availability of finance for renewable energy projects, including offshore wind and onshore greenfield and brownfield projects.

Wind installations globally

As per the report, the global wind industry witnessed 93.6 GW of new onshore and offshore wind installations in 2021, bringing the cumulative installed wind power capacity to 837 GW.

The onshore wind market added 72.5 GW worldwide. That is 18% lower than the previous year due to a slowdown in China and the U.S., the world’s two largest wind markets. On the other hand, the offshore wind market had its best-ever year in 2021, with 21.1GW commissioned, three times more than the previous year.

Even with its upward trajectory, the wind energy sector is still distant from reaching its Paris Agreement targets or a net-zero by 2050 goal.

The report lists the number of challenges that plague the growth of wind installation across the globe and outlines the various methods to tackle them. The challenges based on the GWEC Market Intelligence surveys are system design, supply chain, technology, infrastructure, workforce, and society.

According to another recently released GWEC report – ‘Floating Offshore Wind – a Global Opportunity,’ Ireland, Italy, Morocco, the Philippines, and the U.S. could spearhead the next floating offshore wind development wave.