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Gujarat has become the No.1 State in installed wind power capacity, pushing the long-time leader Tamil Nadu to the second spot.
As of May 31, 2023, Gujarat’s total installed capacity of wind power stood at 10,416 MW, while Tamil Nadu’s wind power capacity was at 10,125 MW.
Two years ago, Gujarat’s wind power capacity was about 1,000 MW lower than Tamil Nadu. However, with faster capacity addition, it has made rapid strides in recent months to narrow the gap and emerge as the top State in the segment.
Industry representatives and analysts point out that favourable policy interventions, the availability of infrastructure, and the strong financial position of Discom, among others, have aided Gujarat’s acceleration in new capacity addition in the wind power sector.
Challenges in Tamil Nadu include evacuation issues, restricted offtake, land availability, and delayed payments, among others
Cumulative RE capacity
Meanwhile, Gujarat has also become the second State after Rajasthan to achieve cumulative renewable energy capacity of more than 20,000 MW. ‘
The State’s cumulative installed capacity stood at 20,293 MW as of May 31, 2023. Rajasthan is the leader in the overall renewable sector, with a total capacity of 22,518 MW.
Tamil Nadu is in third position with a total installed capacity of 18,125 MW, followed by Karnataka (16,969 MW) and Maharashtra (12,773 MW).
Capacity addition
Presently, Gujarat leads among the Indian States in new capacity addition in the renewable energy sector. During the first two months of this fiscal, the sector added 1,609 MW of new capacity. Gujarat alone brought about 857 MW of new capacity, followed by Karnataka (250 MW), Tamil Nadu (205 MW), and Rajasthan (120 MW).
Rating agency ICRA expects the addition of renewable energy capacity to rebound to about 20 GW in FY24 from 15 GW in FY23, considering the time extension provided by the Ministry of Power for solar and hybrid projects till March 2024, the relaxation of the ALMM requirements, and the likely moderation in the solar PV cell and module prices, as seen recently.
“While there is visibility on RE capacity addition in the near term, a significant scale-up in tendering activity is required to meet the notified renewable purchase obligation (RPO) targets over the medium term,” said Vikram V, Vice-President and Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA.
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