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The Indian renewable energy sector is the second most attractive renewable energy market in the world as per the Renewable Energy Attractiveness Index 2017. India's installed renewable power generation capacity (including hydropower) has reached upto 114.43 GW in May 2018, which is 33 per cent of the total installed capacity. India added record 11.78 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2017-18.

Numerous renewable energy sources are available in India. Amongst all, wind energy has emerged as most successful renewable energy option and the fastest renewable technology for generating grid connected power. Wind energy is a clean and eco-friendly energy source and increasingly accepted as a major complementary energy source for securing a sustainable and clean energy future in India. The Indian government has aimed to fully utilize the abundant resources of this energy, which India has. Many agencies have been established and numbers of programs have been laid by Government of India for facilitating and promoting the rapid development of wind power technology.

The wind power development in the country was initiated in the early 1990s followed by the introduction of 100% accelerated depreciation benefit for wind projects in 1994. The present wind power installed capacity in the country is over 34 GW and wind energy constitutes around 55% of the total renewable capacity in the country. Wind power accounts for nearly 10% of India's total installed power generation capacity and generated 52.67 TWh in the fiscal year 2017-18, which is nearly 3% of total electricity generation. Globally India rank fourth in terms of wind power installed capacity after China, USA and Germany.

In spite of the sharp increase in wind power capacity in the country, only a fraction of the country's wind potential has been tapped till date. As per the recent assessment of National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), the potential for onshore wind at 100 m above ground level is over 302 GW. As India plans to reach 175 Gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy by 2022, wind energy will be a major contributor, contributing 60 GW to this expansion plan.

The vast untapped wind power potential could be harnessed to meet India's policy goals, address energy security challenges, and achieve low carbon growth, in a cost-effective manner.

In this endeavour, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, has adopted a multidimensional approach, aiming at large-scale commercialization of cost-effective generation of grid-quality wind power. The wind power programme includes comprehensive wind resource assessment programme, research and development, implementation of demonstration projects to create awareness, development of infrastructural capability, capacity to manufacture along with installation, operation and maintenance of wind turbines and conducive policy formulation.

As per ICRA statement, India's wind energy capacity addition is set to improve by 3-3.5 GW in the current financial year against 1.7 GW in last fiscal due to the viability of bid tariffs and inter-state connectivity key headwinds for developers. 

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) along with the distribution utilities in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have awarded wind-power capacity of 7.6 GW over the past 15 months and another 10 GW each are proposed to be awarded in FY 2019 and FY 2020. This is in line with the trajectory of project awards announced by MNRE in November 2017 to achieve the cumulative wind capacity target of 60 GW by FY 2022. 

Offshore has a distinct advantage over onshore, such as higher and steadier wind with no land constraints. Also, with most of the loads near to coastal areas, the cities close by will benefit.  Moreover, with a coastline of over 7,600 km, India offers tremendous potential for offshore wind. India has an estimated 127 GW of offshore wind power potential, mostly off the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

This year, the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), an autonomous body under the Ministry of New and Renewable  Energy(MNRE), has called for global 'Expression of Interest' (EoI) for the first offshore wind energy project of India. The global EoI is intended to shortlist prospective offshore wind energy developers for a 1,000 MW (1 GW) offshore wind energy project in Gulf of Khambhat, off the coast of Gujarat. The proposed area is located 23-40 km seaward side from Pipavav port.

India started planning in 2010 to enter into offshore wind power. In 2013, a consortium (instead of group of organizations), led by Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) started project FOWIND (Facilitating Offshore Wind in India) to identify potential zones for development of off-shore wind power in India and to stimulate R & D activities in this area. The other consortium partners include the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), DNV GL, the Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) and the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE).

In June 2015, the consortium published initial pre-feasibility assessment reports for offshore wind farm development in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. In September 2015, the India's cabinet approved the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy. With this, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been authorized as the Nodal Ministry for use of offshore areas within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). As per the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy notified on October, 2015, National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai is the nodal agency to carry out the necessary studies/surveys before final bidding and act as a single window for facilitating necessary clearances required for development of offshore wind projects in India.

The first offshore LiDAR (a sensor) was installed in Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat for measurement of wind resource and NIWE is collecting wind speed data from November, 2017 onwards. Areas off the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are two identified areas for development of  offshorewind power. The second LiDAR would be installed off Tamil Nadu coast by September, 2018. In addition, NIWE is planning to set up few more LiDARs for assessment of offshore wind resources.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced medium and long term offshore wind energy target of 5GW by 2022 and 30 GW by 2030, respectively