GE Renewable Energy announced Thursday that the company will supply 810 MW of onshore wind turbines for upcoming projects in Tamil Nadu, India-- part of JSW Energy's implementation of about 2 GW of wind farms across the country.
One of the many windmills installed in the desert area of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. (Courtesy: Himanshu Srivastav/Unsplash)
The news underscores the resurgence of India's wind power market, which was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 1.1 GW of wind capacity was installed in 2020, compared to a forecast of 3.3 GW, according to the Global Wind Energy Council.
But a 10.3 GW project pipeline is expected to drive installations until 2023. The GWEC anticipates 20.2 GW of wind power capacity will be installed in India from 2021-25 -- growth of nearly 50% compared to the current capacity of 39.2 GW.
India, the world's fourth-largest wind power market, is ready for its comeback.
"Wind will be the central axis of (India's) renewable energy portfolios as we move from renewable energy making up less than 10% of the country’s energy matrix today, to more than 30% by the end of this decade," said Sedharth Jain, CEO of MEC Intelligence, which partnered GWEC on the pipeline report. "We will see higher revenue for electricity generation that matches the buyer’s needs, which means generation of electricity at the time and the quality they need. This is where wind will be critical.”
GE will supply its 2.7 MW turbine model to JSW Energy, with blades provided by LM Wind Power. The supply of turbines will start by the second quarter of 2022 and be completed by the first quarter of 2023.
JSW Energy CEO Parshant Jain said the company has a goal of deploying 20 GW of power generating capacity by 2030, with the share of green projects increasing to 85% of the company's portfolio.
"The under-construction project is our first large-scale wind power project," Jain said. "We look forward to working with GE to achieve our energy transition and growth targets.”
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