Development of Wind Energy in India

Wind energy has been the fastest growing renewable energy sector in India. Energy is vital for the country's economic growth and improving the life standard of its citizen. India has spent lots of resources on increasing its energy capacity since independence. As a result, country's generation capacity has increased considerably. Nevertheless, meeting growing energy needs through conventional sources such as coal, gas, etc. creates environmental problems. Hence, the government embarked on exploring new and clean energy sources. Development and promotion of these new and renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass has gotten considerable attention in India, although coal and natural gas are still major sources of electricity. The use of various sustainable, renewable energy technologies has been rising, as it develops rapidly and can be scaled up easily. Wind energy is a clean and eco-friendly energy source and increasingly accepted as a major complementary energy source for securing a sustainable and clean energy future in India. The Indian government has aimed to fully utilize the abundant resources of this energy, which India has. The official assessment shows this country has potential to generate over 100,000 MW of wind energy. Till May 2014, generation capacity of 21,268.3 MW has been created through wind, which places India in the fifth place globally. This paper provides a detailed description of Indian wind energy industry and discuss several developments which accelerated its growth. The paper presents current status, major achievements and future of wind energy in India.