High potential for offshore wind power generation in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat: Indian Govt

Pralhad Joshi, India's Minister for New and Renewable Energy said that there is a high potential for offshore wind energy generation in the Western state of Gujarat and the Southern state of Tamil Nadu. He said that the offshore trials conducted using floating LIDAR (light detection and ranging) buoys have shown that the Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) is at 37 per cent in Gujarat and about 50 per cent in Tamil Nadu. The CUF is a measure of the actual energy a wind farm generates compared to its theoretical maximum output it can deliver. This data helps determine the efficiency of the wind plant.

He elaborated that the tender for executing 500-megawatt offshore wind projects, one off Gujarat and one off Tamil Nadu would be floated in February 2026. Citing another possibility, said that there is a likelihood of a single tender being floated for a 1000-megawatt offshore wind project in either Tamil Nadu or Gujarat.

Addressing the 7thedition of industry event 'Windergy India' in Chennai today, the Minister urged industry stakeholders including original equipment manufacturers and component manufacturers to enhance local content in wind projects to 85 per cent from the current 64 per cent. He said that increasing domestic value addition is essential to strengthen India’s clean energy supply chain amidst evolving global dynamics and rising geo political challenges.

He added that India has the world’s fourth-largest renewable energy capacity, and India’s wind energy capacity ranking is also the fourth in the world.

'Windergy 2025' witnessed the participation of a German delegation led by Johann Saathoff, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Furthering Indo-German cooperation in the renewable energy sector, an MoU was inked between the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation and the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) to cooperate on offshore wind energy development, technology transfer, and policy dialogue. This is as part of the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) between Indian and Germany.

Commending the contribution of Southern Indian states in the renewable energry sector, Pralhad Joshi noted that from the first wind farms to cutting-edge turbines, Tamil Nadu has led India’s clean energy journey and continues to inspire other states. Further, he stated that Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh together contribute almost half of India’s total wind energy capacity, which stands at 54 gigawatts.

Referring to India's decadal goal, Joshi said that India is working towards generating 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, in which wind energy will play a major part by contributing 100 gigawatts. He outlined that India presently has a 54-gigawatt installed capacity of wind energy, while another 30 gigawatts are in progress.

Citing the data from the ongoing year, he said that 3 gigawatts of new wind capacity has been added and that it could reach a total of 6 gigawatts by March 2026, and it is on track to becoming the highest-ever annual addition. For context, 4 gigawatts of wind energy was added in the previous year.

In financial year 2024-25, wind energy generated 3.35 billion units of electricity, which is about 5 per cent of India's total generation. In terms of exports, he said that Indian manufacturers are already exporting wind energy-related components to the US, Europe, Australia, Brazil, and many Asian nations.