This paper examines the WPPs funded by the Government of India since 1986. It aims to analyse projects across 40 locations on parameters like number of turbines, the capacity of turbines, make and model, year of commissioning/age of the plant, etc. It also examines the state-level wind policies in order to assess the impact of various interventions to promote repowering of WPPs.

India has set an ambitious target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, aiming to leverage its massive renewable energy (RE) resources. The Central Electricity Authority’s Report on Optimal Generation Capacity Mix for 2029-30 is expected to guide capacity bifurcation. This paper highlights that, wind energy, one of the country’s oldest and most developed renewable energy technology, is expected to contribute 140 GW to this goal. The sector has continuously risen over the last three decades, reaching a total capacity of 40.1GW in February 2022, making India the world’s fourth-largest market. States with a high Wind Power Density (WPD), such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh, are in the lead, accounting for more than half of the country’s total wind capacity.

However, the pace of the wind capacity addition in India has plateaued. In the last three fiscal years, India has installed an average of 1.7GW Wind Power Projects (WPPs). Availability of land and acquisition issues have surfaced as the biggest reason for this lacklustre progress. Therefore, it has become necessary to make interventions to reinvigorate the growth of the wind sector in India. In this context, the repowering of WPPs posits as a rewarding option.