GWEC India - Global Wind Energy Council

Our Mission

GWEC India – a single advocacy and research body representing the entire value chain of India’s wind industry, from IPPs to OEMs to end-users to service-providers – will work closely with central and state governments to improve the enabling environment for sector growth, creating the conditions for inward investment in the tens of billions of dollars. It will give government of all levels an efficient and transparent channel to consult with industry, and connect policymakers and public expectations with market reality.

India needs a transparent, neutral, cohesive and credible industry group that represents the interests of all wind sector stakeholders, working according to the best international practices of advocacy. GWEC India will convene the many voices across the private sector to speak as one on key issues (see Agenda below), highlighting the most critical priorities and pressing recommendations for the wind industry. This single platform providing unified messages to policymakers will be far more powerful than disparate interests nudging public officials in a scattershot approach.

India’s federal government structure lends itself to large differences in regulatory environments, customer preferences, development timelines and local/state priorities. GWEC India will consolidate the wind industry around a common strategy which focuses resources on those high-potential markets where it can build volume and scale expeditiously. Only through greater collaboration and engagement will the sector be able to clear its present-day roadblocks and come close to delivering on its potential by 2022, 2030 and beyond.

Ramping up wind power capacity will be key to realise India's decarbonisation ambitions and drive a green recovery.

India is the third-largest carbon emitter in the world, making it crucial to grow wind power generation to decarbonise the energy system and support international efforts to keep global warming within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

India is the world’s fourth-largest onshore wind market by cumulative installations with nearly 38 GW of capacity. The government has set an ambitious target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022, which calls for current wind capacity to nearly double within the next two years, totaling 60 GW of onshore wind and 5 GW of offshore wind. GWEC estimates that India risks undershooting its 2022 wind energy target if urgent issues are not addressed.

Plans to establish India as a cost-competitive manufacturing hub for renewable energy could be an important driver of a green recovery, and GWEC India will help create long-term market visibility needed to realise this ambition.

GWEC India will work closely with government stakeholders, companies and adjacent technologies to accelerate the momentum around wind power development in India and support the country in achieving its ambitious renewable energy targets.

Focus Areas

POLICY

The main concern is the slowdown of the wind industry, due to a shift in procurement which has challenged cost recovery, in addition to land allocation and grid capacity issues. Many projects face bottlenecks after reaching FID, with OEMs/EPCs blocked from premium land sites or having paid premiums for these sites, and facing tighter margins. Meanwhile, industry faces the strength of oil and coal interests, and key supporters of RE have departed the power ministry. Wind power should take advantage of the push for RE from India’s global partners, such as the US, Norway, Japan, Denmark and the EU.

CORPORATE SOURCING

GWEC India will utilise GWEC’s international experience and network to build a best-in-class platform for the corporate PPA market in India, including buyer-seller matching, policy advocacy and technical support on best practice regulation and contracting.

TECHNOLOGY

New technologies present new opportunities, such as advanced drive train turbines suited to lower wind speeds, larger turbines, hybrid projects and optimised micro-siting with environmental and social impact studies. Other focus areas include wake effect studies, power forecasts, digitalisation and AI, blockchain technology, fall height and safety standards and advanced materials procurement.

GWEC is the most credible and active global platform to champion Wind Energy across the world. We believe that a lot of foundational and transformative work can be done within the Indian Wind Energy sector as well with all its stakeholders and policymakers. As India Chair of GWEC, I look forward to making GWEC even more impactful in India and also the opportunity to take the Indian Wind Energy sector to the world from a position of strength

Girish Tanti

Vice-Chairman of Suzlon Group and Chair of GWEC India

India Wind Outlook 2020: Looking Beyond Headwinds

The India Wind Outlook 2020 Looking beyond headwinds report published jointly by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and MEC Intelligence objectively analyses the factors which have led to a drag on market growth for India’s wind energy industry over the past two years, and provides an assessment on the forecast along with a pathway to overcome these challenges to realise the high potential of the market.

The report highlights key challenges that must be overcome to restore strong wind market growth in India, including grid and land availability, off-taker risks, stringent tender conditions, and low tariff caps.