June 15 is recognised as Global Wind Day, and with transitioning to cleaner forms of energy taking centre stage the world over, this is a good time to pause and reflect on India’s own journey in harnessing this renewable resource, and to look at the role wind power will play in the country’s future.
While India has made great strides in deploying solar power nationwide and achieving global success, another renewable resource – wind – has not witnessed a similar growth path in the past few years. It was the other way around in the early 90s when wind farms dotted the rural landscapes of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra and Madhya Pradesh, the seven wind-rich states of the country. After a lull, there have recently been rapid developments in the country’s wind sector. This is welcome news as India embarks on a net-zero (removing as much carbon from the atmosphere as has been emitted by human activity) target by 2070 – for which wind energy can be an instrumental enabler.
