The country ranks fourth globally after China, the United States, and Germany in wind capacity with 56.8 GW installed capacity. Yet it has tapped less than 5% of its estimated 1,164 GW potential at 150-meter hub height. Despite historic 6.1 GW additions in 2025 and policy reforms like the National Repowering Policy, the sector faces persistent impediments. From evacuation crises to land acquisition nightmares, which may threaten to derail the 500 GW non-fossil target by 2030.
Untapped Potential
As of May 2026, India has installed 56.8 GW of wind capacity. The country added 6.1 GW in 2025, marking historic growth. In 2024-25 it added 4.1 GW and is expected to reach 60+ GW in 2026.
India’s gross wind potential at 120-meter hub height is 695.5 GW, while at 150 meters it reaches 1,163.9 GW. The repowering opportunity alone could unlock 25–25.4 GW from outdated turbines.
Lagging Despite Top-4 Status
China dominates the global landscape with approximately 490 GW installed, representing 52% of the global total, and adds roughly 75 GW annually. The United States holds 158 GW (17% of the global total) with 6.5 GW annual additions. Germany has 72 GW (8% of global) with 3.5 GW added yearly. India sits at 54.5–56.1 GW (6% of global total) with 6.1 GW added in 2025. Spain has 30 GW (3% of global) with 1.2 GW annual additions.
India ranked second globally for new wind capacity in 2025, ahead of the United States, but total installations remain dwarfed. Europe’s offshore wind accounts for 11.8% of new capacity and is rising to 17.5% by 2030, while India has zero commissioned offshore capacity despite its 7,600 km coastline.
What India Uses and What It’s Missing
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) dominate approximately 95% of India’s fleet. These are standard in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) remain limited to urban and special applications.
The Indian onshore farms mostly consist of older turbines below 1.5 MW. The country has 0 GW commissioned offshore capacity. States have awarded tenders to create a strong pipeline—500 MW tenders in Gujarat and 4 GW in Tamil Nadu are pending.
The repowering emergency is critical. Approximately 25 GW of outdated turbines from the 1990s with a capacity below 1.5 MW need replacement. The high-capacity 2–5 MW turbines could double or triple output from the same footprint. The MNRE’s National Repowering Policy from December 2023 allows turbine replacement before design life ends. However, barriers include high dismantling costs, grid upgrade needs, fragmented ownership, and inadequate rebates.
Why India’s Wind Sector Is Stuck
Power evacuation and grid constraints represent the most critical issue. A significant GW of stranded renewable capacity existed due to transmission constraints. Transmission lines take 3+ years compared to 2 years for wind projects, creating a persistent mismatch. 400 kV substations are missing in wind-rich areas.
Land acquisition and right-of-way issues complicate large farm acquisition through legal, social, and ecological concerns. Unauthorized development occurs in strategic wind corridors, and right-of-way issues delay both new developments and repowering efforts.
Policy and bidding mechanisms have shifted from feed-in-tariff at Rs 4–5 per unit to competitive bidding at Rs 2.5–3 per unit, reducing profitability. Aggressive bidding creates unsustainable prices that cause developers to back out. Tighter green power rules from April 2026 may squeeze earnings and slow investment.
Offshore Wind
Multi-agency approvals plus complex environmental clearances slow offshore progress. The specific challenges include a high Levelized Cost of Energy at INR 10–12 per kWh versus onshore at INR 2.5–3 per kWh. Infrastructure gaps include no offshore ports, vessels, or domestic blade manufacturing. Financial risks involve long timelines and uncertain returns that deter investment. It is estimated that approximately INR 9,000 crore is required as an additional viability gap for 1 GW.
Supply chains and financing face persistent disruptions that slow capacity addition. Limited access to financing exists for repowering since it is capital-heavy. Permitting delays extend timelines, affordability, service networks, and certification; the list is long.
What Must Change
For the next 1–2 years, the focus should be on upgrading evacuation to 33 kV or higher in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Maharashtra to unlock 10+ GW of stranded capacity. Mandatory grid capacity assessments before project commissioning would prevent new stranded assets.
Single-window clearance for offshore and repowering projects could cut approval time by 40–50%. Increasing viability gap funding for offshore to target INR 9,000 crore per GW would bring LCOE to INR 5.5 per kWh parity.
Medium-Term reforms require repowering incentives with state-level funding and tax breaks for turbine replacement since the current rebate is inadequate.
A small wind framework needs standardized certification, hybrid net-metering, financing models, and technician training. Supply chain localization should expand “Make in India” for blades and turbines while reducing import duties.
AI integration can optimize supply chains, improve generation forecasting, and enhance maintenance prognostics.
Offshore infrastructure development must build dedicated ports, develop domestic vessel capability, and coordinate subsea cabling.
Long-Term targets 140 GW wind by 2030 compared to the current 56 GW. Repowering should unlock 25 GW from legacy sites.
Offshore should commission the first 500 MW Gujarat project by 2027 and scale to 5 GW by 2030. Cost reduction aims for offshore LCOE down 35% by 2030 via learning rate improvements from -3% to -12%.
Wind power is India’s circular-economy backbone for decarbonization. It slashes millions of tonnes of CO₂ yearly. Modern turbines now feature 90%+ recyclable materials (steel, glass, and concrete), and emerging adapter-fibre recycling is turning the last 10% into viable feedstock instead of landfill waste.
It conserves water compared to thermal plants, a non-negotiable advantage for water-scarce India. It delivers energy sovereignty by displacing fossil imports and saving billions in foreign currency. It fuels 75,000+ jobs and will add 60,000 more from offshore alone. Grid balancing benefits from offshore, providing steady evening output that complements solar.
What is being observed is that India’s wind sector is not failing, but it is stifled. The country has the demand and capability.
World Wind Day 2026 demands action. The technology is mature. The potential is unmatched. The bottleneck is the political will.
ESG News.earth is India’s first Sustainability & ESG news portal.
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