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Re-assessment of India’s on-shore wind power potential

The Government of India and policy makers are faced with the fact that India has vast wind energy potential. However, there have been different studies and assessments, producing different results. From a policy perspective, it is important to have an understanding of the extent and scale of potential so that appropriate policies can be devised to harness the potential. In India, the official wind energy potential estimate, published by NIWE is 102.7 GW at 80 m (NIWE). Currently, this estimate is taken into consideration for policy making, and more importantly, for assessing the level of deployment in different states. Recognising the significance that wind potential estimates bear on the outlook for the sector, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) constituted a Committee of experts in September 2014 (MNRE’s office Memorandum No. 58/91/2014-WE). The objective of this Committee was to re-assess and report India’s onshore wind power potential.