India Eyes 50% Wind Power Capacity Boost Without Acquiring More Land

India’s wind turbine manufacturers are in discussions with state and federal authorities about a plan to repower old turbines with higher-capacity, higher-efficiency new ones to boost power output without sacrificing more land. Modern turbines can replace a total of 8 gigawatts (GW) of old and less efficient turbines, Aditya Pyasi, CEO of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association, told Bloomberg in an interview published on Wednesday.The repowering project could boost capacity at these sites by nearly 50%, according to estimates by the association.The repowering will not only increase installed capacity but will also reduce the need for new land acquisition for the wind power projects.India is going through a renewable energy boom, with wind and solar power capacity surging and taking a growing share of power supply away from coal.India’s record-setting annual additions of wind power capacity could double by the end of the decade, a senior executive at major wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy told Bloomberg last month.Last year, India installed a record 6.3 GW of wind power generation capacity.This year, the annual installations are set to top that record and reach 8 GW, and annual additions could then double to about 14 GW by 2030, Suzlon Energy’s executive vice chairman, Girish Tanti, told Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi.India is comfortably on track to meet its goal to have 500 GW of non-fossil-fuel power capacity installed by 2030, after having just hit the 300 GW milestone, New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said in August.To help reduce renewable energy curtailments, India also plans to soon mandate state-owned utilities to add energy storage capacity to take advantage of the clean energy boom with reduced waste of generated power amid lagging storage capacity. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comSiemens Energy More Than Triples Dividend After Record YearU.S. Traders Weigh the Cost of Taking Trump’s Russian DieselIran War Set to Drive A Drop in Global Fossil Fuel Emissions in 2026