Availability of land, private investors, wind velocity, state policies, more captive use of electricity and good infrastructure will drive the wind power market.
According to recently published report of Bonafide Research “Indian Wind Power Market Outlook 2021” Tamil Nadu, which has been enjoying leadership position in wind energy sector in India, may lose out on its top position now as investments are now shifting towards Gujarat and Rajasthan. According to industry representatives, investment for setting up wind farms in Tamil Nadu have dropped to around Rs 600 crore invested so far this year, from Rs 7,000 crore 2011-12. Investments in the current fiscal year are also down, and one of the main reasons attributed for the drop is the poor infrastructure to evacuate the power produced.
According to Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA's) estimate in 2011-12 about 1,000 MW of wind farms were installed. This translates into about Rs 6,500-7,000 crore investment in the state, most of which was for captive use. But last year this has come down to 170 MW and in the current year it is expected to be much lesser. It may be noted that 40% of the countries installed wind farms are in Tamil Nadu.
Gujarat has registered highest growth in wind power generation during past four years. Installed wind power generation capacities in the state has increased by 36% during 2011-12 to 2,966 megawatt (MW), making the state second only to Tamil Nadu in India's wind energy sector. Gujarat's share in India's total wind generation has increased from around 15% in 2011 to 17% in 2012. India's total installed wind power capacities stand at 17,365 Mw for 2011-12.
In Rajasthan though the wind quality is not as good as it is in Tamil Nadu, the tariff is good and it has also got some good infrastructure. At a time when every unit of power generated matters to the state, Tamil Nadu lost close to 100 million units of wind power since several windmills are being shut down for several hours due to shortage of evacuation infrastructure. However, insiders maintained that states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have shown saturation in the wind power generation, Gujarat and Rajasthan are the most preferred states for the entrepreneurs in the wind energy sector.