Re-powering older units vital for India's wind power growth amid contract challenges

Mr. Ravi Shekhar, Director & Head, of Eninrac Consulting says "Wind power generation has seen a slide both in terms of capacity additions and actual generation in India. While the country remains bullish pertaining to its renewable additions throughout 2030, the wind sector needs dedicated attention going forward. The fact that wind gave an output of only 74.25 MU’s per GW of installed capacity in February 2023 remains concerning for the sector to blossom and garner investors' sentiments on a positive sense. Wind happens to contribute only ~2.50% in monthly generation for the country against an installed base of 42GW. It's time for India to re-look aggressively on two fronts primarily, with the first being the old-wind sites with the purview of re-powering them along with GBI's being rolled-in their favor. Secondly, enabling better terms for PPA’s for older units and arranging the construction of competitive on-shore wind zones in the country with ample tax concessions. This timely action coupled with dedicated transmission infrastructure can see the ground reality for wind sector change in India”