Gujarat continues to be the preferred destination for setting up wind power projects in India. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gujarat witnessed the highest addition of wind power generation capacity in the country in FY21.
Wind power projects with the cumulative generation capacity of 1,020.3 MW were installed and commissioned in Gujarat from April 2020 to March 2021. That was the highest capacity addition by any state in India during the period according to data compiled by the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA).
Gujarat was followed by Tamil Nadu (303.7 MW) and Karnataka (148 MW). In fact, Gujarat grabbed the lion’s share of 68 percent in the new wind power capacity addition across the country in FY21. About 1,503.3 MW new wind power generation capacity was installed in India in FY21.
With these new installations, Gujarat’s current operational capacity for generation of power from wind energy sources stands at 8,561.8 MW as against 7,541.5 MW in FY20. At 1,468.4 MW, Gujarat created the highest wind power capacity in FY21 as well.
The majority of the projects -- with the capacity of 700 MW that came up in Gujarat during FY21 -- were auctioned by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) before the outbreak of the pandemic. About 200 MW capacity was added via tenders floated by state-run power utilities.
Renewable energy companies such as Adani Green and ReNew Power were among the prominent players that commissioned their power projects. Adani Green and ReNew Power commissioned 100 MW and 300 MW wind power projects in Kutch in March 2021.
Gujarat currently stands second after Tamil Nadu in terms of the total installed wind power generation capacity in the country.