Goa: India could unlock major economic gains and strengthen its broader clean energy and bioenergy transition by accelerating wind power deployment alongside solar expansion, according to Girish Tanti, Chairman of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) and Vice Chairman of Suzlon, ANI reported.
Speaking at the Global Wind Day Conference in Goa organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Tanti said a more balanced renewable energy mix with greater wind capacity could reduce system costs and improve energy reliability.
Citing a new resource allocation report, Tanti said increasing wind energy capacity by an additional 90 GW by 2035 could generate net savings of around Rs 2 lakh crore for India’s power system.
According to him, the study estimates total savings of nearly Rs 3 lakh crore, although around Rs 1 lakh crore would still be required as additional capital investment, resulting in overall net savings of approximately Rs 2 lakh crore.
Tanti said wind energy offers an economic advantage because it can generate electricity during periods of peak demand, especially in the morning and evening.
He explained that solar generation alone does not adequately support these peak demand periods and often requires battery storage to shift power availability across different parts of the day.
The report recommends changing India’s current renewable energy mix from an approximate one-to-three wind-to-solar ratio toward a more balanced structure of 40 per cent wind and 60 per cent solar.
According to Tanti, such a shift could reduce dependence on battery storage while ensuring electricity is produced closer to periods of highest consumer demand, ANI stated.
Despite the strong economic case for wind expansion, he said transmission infrastructure remains a major challenge.
Tanti noted that several gigawatts of installed wind projects are currently awaiting transmission connectivity. He said renewable energy projects are now being completed within two to three years, while transmission planning and execution still operate on a four-to-five-year timeline.
He added that ongoing work on green energy corridors and state transmission networks is expected to narrow this gap over the next two years.
From an industrial perspective, Tanti said manufacturers are already prepared for higher deployment levels. He stated that India’s wind sector currently has around 24 GW of annual manufacturing capacity, while domestic installations this year are expected to reach about 8 GW, leaving significant capacity available.
Tanti also dismissed concerns that India is falling behind on renewable and climate targets.
He said India has already achieved its earlier milestone of obtaining 50 per cent of installed power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources ahead of schedule and expressed confidence that the country remains on track to achieve its target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.
He added that alongside transmission constraints, land availability and local implementation issues continue to affect project timelines. According to Tanti, the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy are conducting regular reviews with states to accelerate project execution and maintain progress toward national clean energy goals.
