Top 10 States for Wind Energy Installations and Potential in India

Here we attempt to list the top 10 states for wind energy in India based on the installed capacity and their wind potential (at 120 M agl).

India has set a target of installing 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity in the country by 2022, of which a majority is proposed to be met by solar (100 GW) and wind (60 GW) energy. As of February 29, 2020, India has installed capacity of about 86.76 GW of grid-interactive renewable power and 37.6 GW of that total has been through wind energy installations.

At that value (37.6 GW), India is the world’s fourth-largest onshore wind market by installations and has the potential for more than 695 GW at 120 metres hub height. However, according to a new report by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), wind energy capacity in India can only realistically reach 50 GW by 2022. And, efforts by the government to lower barriers around market design, grid infrastructure and land allocation must be intensified, in order to revive auction appetite and resolve the execution challenges facing India’s wind market and reach the country’s ambitious 175 GW renewable energy target by 2022, of which 60 GW is due to come from wind energy.

It also added that while the country has set a target to reach a total wind capacity of 60 GW by 2022 and 140 GW by 2030, project installation have been decelerating recently, with only 2.3 GW installed in 2019, nearly half of the 4.1 GW installed in 2017. The report finds that even in the high case scenario, the country is likely to fall short of its ambitious wind energy target for 2022.

Here in this article, we attempt to list the top 10 states for wind energy in the country based on the installed capacity (as on January 31, 2020) and their wind potential (at 120 M ago).

Tamil Nadu (Installed – 1st, Potential – 6th)

Just under 800 MW short of breaking the 10 GW barrier for installed wind energy capacity, Tamil Nadu is well ahead of the rest of the states in the country when it comes to wind energy adoption. The state has rushed to the top of the list with the rapid expansion of the technology through this decade with its installed capacity nearly 2 GW more than the second-best state in the country. When it comes to wind potential – at 68.75 GW (at 120 M agl), the state is bested by five others.

The state also ranks fourth for renewable energy installations over the last four years with 4624.925 MW installed, of which 1678.455 MW was through wind.

Gujarat (Installed – 2nd, Potential – 1st)

The western state of Gujarat is second on the list for installed wind capacity with just under 7.5 GW of installed capacity (7.46 GW). Overall, the state is, beyond any doubt, the most resource enriched when it comes to wind energy as it is also first on the list for wind power potential with 142.56 GW (at 120 M agl). Although not a part of the criteria, the state also leads the nation for wind potential at 100 m agl of 84.43 GW, nearly 30 GW ahead of the second-best.

The state also ranks 3rd for renewable energy installations over the last four years with 5351.99 MW installed, of which 3530.4 MW was through wind.

Maharashtra (Installed – 3rd, Potential – 4th)

Third on the list is the state of Maharashtra with 5 GW of installed wind capacity. The state also has a wind potential of 98.213 GW (at 120 M agl) which puts it fourth on the list for wind energy potential. At 100 m agl, the state has the third-highest potential of 45.394 GW. In January, Maharashtra Electricity Distribution Corporation (MSEDCL) has issued a Request for Selection (RfS) for the procurement of 200 MW wind power on a long term basis from intra-state wind power projects.

The state also ranks 7th for renewable energy installations over the last four years with 2485.74 MW installed, of which 346.55 MW was through wind.

Karnataka (Installed – 4th, Potential – 3rd)

Fourth on the list for installed wind energy capacity is Karnataka with 4754.9 MW capacity installed in the state. For wind potential that state slots in behind the two western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan at third position with a potential of 124.155 GW (at 120 m agl). This southern state has been at the forefront of India’s renewable energy transition for a while now and that is reflected in the 9639.31 MW or nearly 10 GW renewable energy projects implemented in the state since April 2016, just under 1.8 GW of which has been through wind energy projects.

Rajasthan (Installed – 5th, Potential – 2nd)

With an installed capacity of 4299.72 MW, Rajasthan is fourth on the list for installed wind energy capacity in the country. However, this western state which neighbours Gujarat has the second-highest wind potential in the country after its neighbour at 127.756 GW. The two states together account for a massive ~ 270 GW of wind energy potential on India’s west coast. The state also has a potential of 18.77 GW at 100 m agl.

The state also ranks 5th for renewable energy installations over the last four years with 4074.45 MW installed, of which 305.7 MW was through wind.

Andhra Pradesh (Installed – 6th, Potential – 5th)

Home to a quagmire of unresolved power purchase agreements unearthed by the new state government and subsequent challenges that were introduced in its energy segment, the southern state of Andhra Pradesh has done well to establish its sixth position on the list for installed wind energy capacity in the country with just over 4 GW installed. The state ranks 5th for wind energy at 74.906 GW at 120 m agl.

The state has performed well in the renewable segment over the last four years and ranks second behind Karnataka for installations in that period. The state has installed 5667.11 MW of renewable energy capacity in the four year period, 2661.05 MW of which has been through wind energy projects.

Madhya Pradesh (Installed – 7th, Potential – 8th)

Seventh on the list for installed wind energy capacity in the country is Madhya Pradesh with 2519.89 MW of installed capacity. The state has a wind potential of 15.4 GW at 120 m agl, which puts it at 8th position on the list. It also has a wind potential of over 10 GW at the 100 m level. In January we had reported that the state had secured Rs 4000 crore investment for the development of two wind energy projects in the state.

The state has installed 1882.14 MW of renewable energy projects in the four year period and ranks 8th on the list, with almost all of the capacity being met through new solar energy projects.

Telangana (Installed – 8th, Potential – 7th)

Breaking away from Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Telangana has failed to match, what is now, its neighbouring state for wind energy installations with only a meagre 128.1 MW installed in the state which slots it in at the 8th position. While Andhra Pradesh is home to over 31 times more installed capacity.

Besides wind, the state has done well in the renewable energy segment since it has separated. It has installed 3352.3 MW of renewable capacity over the last four years to rank it sixth highest in the country. However, almost all of that has been through solar projects.

Kerala (Installed – 9th, Potential – 11th)

The coastal state of Kerala with just over 62 MW of wind energy capacity installed in the state is ninth on the list for capacity installations in the country. However, that capacity still stands at an overwhelming 15 times greater than all the other remaining states in the country (not mentioned above), which have a combined installed wind energy capacity of 4.3 MW. A negligible quantity in the grand scheme of things.

The data for this article was sourced from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (for installed wind capacity) and the National Institute of Wind Energy (for the wind potential values at 120 and 100 metres above ground level – agl)