Until a few years back, when someone asked me about the total potential of India’s wind power, I had to give two answers: One was the official estimate and another, what I felt was the estimate based on improved turbine heights and turbine technology.
The two were vastly different.
The official estimate until a couple of years back was a paltry 45000 MW, though this was done for old turbine technologies and those at heights of 50 m.
All of us from the industry knew the actual potential had to be much higher with the current heights and technologies, and we used to give unofficial estimates being in the range 200-300 GW.
From now on, our job has been made a bit easier.
The Indian government has released a fresh estimate of the wind energy potential in the country.
The National Institute of Wind Energy, formerly the Centre of Wind Energy Technology, recently announced that the total onshore wind energy potential in the country is 302 GW. This was determined at a hub height of 100 meters.
The new assessment methodology also takes into account the actual land availability, with land features categorised into three ranks — wasteland, cultivable land, and forest land. Of the total estimated 302 GW potential, 153 GW is available in wasteland, 146 GW in cultivable land, and 3 GW in forest land.
The overall ranking of the states across the three wind potential estimates remains the same. Gujarat has the largest potential, accounting for about 28% or over 84GW followed by Karnataka with 56 GW and Maharashtra with 45 GW.
Good. Very good.
Report source credit: Clean Technica