Wind Project Installations in India Deflating: GWEC Report

Wind project installations in India are deflating with only 2.4 GW installed in 2019, nearly half of the 4.1 GW installed in 2017, according to a new report

Wind project installations in India are deflating with only 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of wind capacity installed in 2019 – nearly half of the 4.1 GW installed in 2017, according to the latest report by Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

“While more than 17 GW of capacity has been auctioned across the country by various power purchasing agencies in the last three years, nearly one-third went unsubscribed or was cancelled post-award due to various factors… more than 80 percent of awarded projects have been delayed by 6 to 12 months,” said the report titled ‘Global Wind Report 2019’, the 15th edition of the global report published by GWEC.

It added that an influx of capital and technology initiated a downward slide in prices, with the levelised cost of wind energy declining by 40 percent from 2015 to 2019. At present, wind is the second-cheapest power source on the grid after solar at Rs 2.81 per kilowatt-hour, and nearly 35 percent cheaper than conventional fuels.

It, however, added that for India the two fundamental drivers which can sustain market growth are rising energy demand and political ambition. According to the council, over the next 10 years, India’s electricity demand is set to double.

India is the world’s fourth-largest onshore wind market by installations, with 37.5 GW of wind capacity as of 2019. It has set an ambitious target of 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, of which 60 GW will come from wind energy, and a whopping 450 GW by 2030, of which 140 GW will be wind-based generation.

The report had also added that overall 2019 was the second-biggest year for wind energy historically, with installations of over 60 GW (60.4 GW) of new capacity worldwide and year-on-year growth of 19 percent. 

As per the report, the main driver of this growth was market-based mechanisms, with auctioned wind capacity in 2019 surpassing 40 GW worldwide, accounting for two-thirds of total new capacity and doubling auctioned capacity compared to 2018. The majority of wind energy installations in 2019 were located in established markets, with the top 5 markets (China, US, UK, India, and Spain) accounting for 70 percent of new capacity. In terms of cumulative installations, China, the US, Germany, India, and Spain remain the top markets, collectively making up 73 percent of the total 651 GW of wind power capacity across the world.