Wind Power Market in India 2024-2028

Wind Power Market in India 2024-2028

Wind power (or wind energy) harnesses wind to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert wind kinetic energy into mechanical power, which can be used for specific tasks (such as grain grinding and water pumping) or converted into electricity by a generator.

Residential onsite energy use necessitates using a small turbine (typically less than 10 kilowatts (kW) capable of generating the power required by homes daily. Midsize machines can generate enough energy to power larger commercial onsite loads. Utility-scale devices are best suited for utility-scale projects because they maximize generation while minimizing site infrastructure footprint and costs.

The growth in India’s capacity to generate electricity from wind power in the country is driven by the rising demand for electricity and the increased use of renewable energy. India's electricity demand has propelled because of initiatives such as 'Make in India,' rapid urbanization, and economic expansion.

The India government unveiled ambitious climate change mitigation and clean energy transition goals, termed ‘Panchamrit’, during the COP26 summit in November 2021. This initiative aims for 500 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, with 140 GW dedicated to wind power.

Government Initiatives:

The Ministry of Power extended the waiver on charges of the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) on the electricity transmission generated by solar and wind sources for projects that are scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2025.

Furthermore, the order encourages the development of solar, wind, hydro-pumped storage plants (PSPs), and battery energy storage systems (BESS), along with the trading of renewable energy (RE) at power exchanges and the seamless transmission of RE power across states. It will encourage the development of a Hydro Pumped Storage Plant (PSP), along with Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects, to meet the grid balancing requirements resulting from the large-scale integration of renewables in the electricity grid, which is expected to reach 450 GW by 2030.

Market drivers:

The India government has introduced several policies and strategies to improve the energy storage ecosystem. These include a mix of standalone battery projects against renewable energy hybrid systems, as well as requirements for ancillary services. It has made various structural reforms to create a clean, flexible, and efficient power system.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) announced the outcome of its initial peak power tender in January 2020, which offered the developers to get wind and solar energy with renewable energy storage.

In 2020, SECI also held India’s first tender for ‘round-the-clock’ clean power. It requires developers to combine solar energy with wind, hydro power, or energy storage to provide an 80% plant load factor over the year. The government is introducing these new kinds of bids with the intent to make renewable energy more popular and acceptable in the grid and to enable DISCOMs to buy more renewable energy.

Key deterrents to the growth of the market:

Wind energy projects are decentralized in nature and require proper system planning and integration for the operation of transmission networks. The key purpose of the current transmission lines is to transmit the energy from regional generation units to load centers.Wind power projects are often set up in remote areas, away from large cities, and result in weak transmissibility. The distance and voltage levels, therefore, increase with the installation of wind power plants far away from the load centers. Hence, to deepen penetration levels, it is required to find an optimal network topology for uninterrupted system performance.