Wind could also attract US$10 billion in investment every year and create 213,000 green collar jobs, says the industry.
By 2005, India had developed into the world’s fourth largest market for wind and, last year, it brought online the third largest amount of wind energy, after the USA and China. It now ranks fifth in total installed wind capacity with 9645 MW of turbines installed.
The report considers three different scenarios: reference, moderate and advanced. It found that wind technology, re-powering, untapped off-shore potential and more wind resource assessment could play a key part in India’s efforts to provide energy while combatting climate change.
Assuming that each megawatt of new wind capacity creates employment of 15 jobs, the report predicts that 400,000 workers were employed in the global wind sector in 2008, with 28,400 in India. The advanced scenario would see wind employment rise to 57,700 by 2010, 177,000 by 2020 and 213,500 jobs by 2030.