Yesterday, on June 15, in an event organised by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy [MNRE], Gujarat was lauded as the state with the highest installed wind capacity in India — pushing Tamil Nadu to the second spot.

A press statement issued by the Gujarat government mentioned that at present, the installed capacity of wind power projects in the state is 10021.165 megawatts which is the highest in the country.

“Gujarat was the first state to announce the Wind Power Policy in 1993-94,” the press statement mentioned.

In the event held in New Delhi, Arti Kanwar, Resident Commissioner, Gujarat accepted the award from the MNRE Secretary Bhupender Singh Bhalla.

India is pacing up to produce 500 gigawatts of clean power capacity by 2030, and after solar, and the country is betting on wind to meet this milestone.

As per the ministry, India’s total wind installations have scaled from 26.8 gigawatt in 2016 to more than 43 gigawatt in 2023, pinning the country at the fourth position globally in terms of its wind energy harnessing potential.

India has set a target to reach 100 gigawatt of onshore wind and another 37 gigawatt of offshore projects by 2030.

In the press release, the state government also claimed to have identified 56 potential locations along with the 1600 kilometres-long coastline in the Saurashtra and Kutch Peninsula for Wind Power Generation.

Additionally, it claimed that in the area of the southern coastline & in the northern parts of the state with an adjoining border of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the state is blessed to have a wind ‘gold mine’.

Also Read: ‘Shifting to renewable energy vital for India to meet its climate goals by 2030’

The press release by the state government further declared that Gujarat is slated to introduce a new integrated renewable energy policy to ensure that it takes a leading role in achieving the national target of 500 gigawatt of wind energy by 2030.