India is projected to fall short of its target to install 60GW of wind power by 2022.
According to a recent study by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and MEC Intelligence (MEC+), the Indian wind industry will fall short of its target by as much as 10GW.
The report states that challenges such as grid and land availability, low tariff caps and reform barriers have reduced market growth in the last to years – the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is further expected to disrupt supply chains that could delay up to 1.1GW of new capacity generation and result in cancelled auctions.
The study suggests immediate government and industry reforms could generate up to 17GW of new capacity before 2022 and urges politicians to make this happen.
en Backwell, CEO at GWEC, said: India has been one of the world’s largest wind energy markets for many years and the government has put in place ambitious renewable energy targets in order to fulfil the country’s growing energy demand, which is set to double over the next ten years. While we applaud the leadership which the Indian government has shown, the targets alone are simply not enough to ensure the market grows at the right pace to reach its objectives. Setting realistic prices, a faster build-out of grid infrastructure, ensuring market liquidity and streamlining land allocation and site development will be crucial to revive auction appetite and accelerate execution of India’s pipeline of wind energy projects.
Ultimately, India must overcome the challenges identified in the report not only to get its wind market growth back on track, but to also to provide new investment opportunities, jobs and affordable energy to contribute to the country’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.