India’s wind manufacturing sector is moving towards deeper indigenisation as the government strengthens domestic sourcing requirements and the industry looks to expand its global footprint. The country has already developed a significant manufacturing base, with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, noting around 70-80 per cent indigenisation and domestic annual turbine manufacturing capacity of about 24 GW. At the same time, the sector faces challenges related to specialised materials, deployment scale, repowering of ageing turbines and export competitiveness. The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers-Wind (ALMM-Wind) and ALMM-Wind Turbine Components (ALMM-WTC) frameworks are also shaping the next phase of domestic manufacturing. In an interview with Renewable Watch, Aditya Pyasi, Chief Executive Officer, Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA), discusses the remaining gaps in the domestic supply chain, India’s export ambitions, technology trends, repowering and policy measures needed to strengthen the manufacturing ecosystem. Edited excerpts…
What are the key domestic supply chain bottlenecks that India needs to address to achieve greater indigenisation of wind manufacturing?
The government and policy framework in India have decisively moved towards indigenisation. ALMM-Wind and ALMM-WTC are already in force, and the industry is progressing towards greater domestic manufacturing of major components. These include blades, nacelles, gearboxes, generators, towers and bearings. The remaining challenge is with specific components such as main bearings, which require high-strength steel, as well as very large bearings of 5 metres and above. The large forged rings required for these components are currently sourced from outside India. We have taken up the issue with the Ministry of Steel because the required quality of specialised steel needs to be available domestically. If demand can be aggregated, India can move closer to complete localisation. The industry is prepared; the steel industry now needs to come on board.
Another emerging concern is carbon fibre. Carbon fibre is an important material for wind turbine manufacturing and is currently not being exported from China. IWTMA has also taken up the issue with the Ministry of External Affairs, which has held two rounds of discussions with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The industry, therefore, needs to look beyond critical minerals and also identify critical materials that could become supply chain bottlenecks.
What will it take for India to move from being a major wind manufacturing base to becoming a leading global exporter?
India is already exporting wind equipment, with around 12,800 tonnes of equipment exported so far. The immediate target should be to capture a larger share of the global wind equipment exports. To this end, the biggest requirement is to scale up. In the previous financial year, the wind deployment was around 6 GW. If India can provide greater certainty of 10-15 GW of annual demand, it can provide manufacturers with sufficient demand and economies of scale, and hence, could potentially reduce the cost. This is significant because the current cost gap with China is estimated at around 10-15 per cent.
Furthermore, India needs to support the development of larger turbine platforms. Domestic manufacturers are currently competitive in the 3 MW-3.5 MW segment, but larger platforms being produced in China require additional investment and incentives. Scaling domestic deployment alongside targeted support for larger platforms could, therefore, create the foundation for a much stronger export industry.
Are round-the-clock renewable power projects giving a second wind to the wind power sector?
We are happy to see wind being integrated into hybrid and storage-backed projects. From an industry perspective, the objective should be to deliver the lowest cost and most dependable electricity to consumers. A project that can mimic round-the-clock power is more valuable because it provides greater reliability. In a recent thermal-mimic tender, the tariff was discovered at around Rs 5.25 per kWh, compared with coal-based power at around Rs 7.25-Rs 7.50 per kWh. This demonstrates the potential for renewable energy to compete directly with conventional generation when reliability is incorporated into the solution. The focus, therefore, should be on scaling wind and solar together, while resolving constraints related to right-of-way and land availability. India’s manufacturing sector needs to change its mindset and develop the confidence that the country can become one of the world’s largest exporters.
What technological changes could transform wind manufacturing over the next five years?
AI is already being used in parts of the wind ecosystem, particularly operations and maintenance. However, its manufacturing applications are also increasingly growing. An important opportunity is blade inspection. Modern blades can be around 90 metres long and contain large quantities of resin. Small cracks, uneven paint thickness or other manufacturing defects can eventually create significant problems over a 20-year operating life. AI-based scanning and inspection could identify such defects during manufacturing, reducing long-term maintenance and failure costs.
AI can also support forecasting and predict blade availability and manufacturing requirements. However, the availability of ground-level data remains a constraint. There is also a question of who bears the cost of these technologies. Even if AI-based inspection increases turbine costs by around Re 0.25 per kWh, the long-term benefits could be substantial.
Furthermore, India is also developing materials such as Recyclamine that can improve blade recyclability. However, these materials remain somewhat more expensive than conventional carbon fibre or glass fibre. Greater adoption will require customers and manufacturers to recognise the long-term value of improved recyclability.
Why has repowering of India’s ageing wind fleet not yet developed at the expected scale?
Repowering represents a major opportunity, but fragmented landownership and the economics of existing projects remain important barriers. Unlike greenfield projects, where developers can acquire relatively barren or inexpensive land, many older wind projects are located on fragmented parcels owned by multiple individuals. Landowners may, therefore, demand higher prices, making repowering difficult to structure economically.
However, there needs to be greater clarity on the benefits available to existing project owners. If repowering does not offer a sufficiently attractive return compared with developing a new project, there is little incentive to undertake it. The industry is, therefore, looking at mechanisms around land swapping, land costs and the return on investment for existing projects.
Another important consideration is safety. Wind turbines that have been operating for 20-25 years raise questions about continued operational safety. If the government establishes clear standards around the safety and grid performance of ageing turbines, a significant fleet could become available for mandatory repowering. This would not only improve safety but also increase capacity and capacity utilisation factors.
How should the industry assess changes in turbine costs?
It is difficult to compare turbine costs purely on a per-MW basis because turbine platforms have evolved significantly. Platform sizes have increased from around 250 kW to 500 kW and beyond, and comparing the price of a smaller historical turbine with a modern platform does not provide a meaningful picture.
The focus, instead, should be on the cost and quality of electricity delivered to the consumer. If wind and solar, together with storage and hybrid configurations, can deliver dependable power at below Rs 5 per kWh and around Rs 4 per kWh, that would be a major success. That is the solution India should aim to provide not only domestically but also to global markets. Ultimately, the objective should be to deliver the lowest cost of power to the consumer rather than focus excessively on whether an individual turbine has become more or less expensive.
What policy measures would help India scale up its wind manufacturing and exports?
IWTMA proposed several measures to strengthen domestic manufacturing and exports in the Union Budget 2025-26, many of which were considered by the government. For this year, we have two major proposals. One of them is an export-linked incentive scheme under which manufacturers would receive incentives based on the actual production and exports rather than simply establishing manufacturing capacity. Such a mechanism could help narrow India’s estimated cost gap with competing manufacturing bases. If successful, this could also increase India’s share of global exports from around 10 per cent to 20-25 per cent, while generating significant employment.
The second proposal is more competitive financing for projects using domestically manufactured components. Buyers’ credit from Indian banks could help manufacturers compete with international suppliers that frequently bundle turbines with financing solutions. For domestic projects using made-in-India or indigenised equipment, banks could be incentivised to provide financing at competitive rates. Even an incentive of around 0.25 per cent could make a difference, while keeping more financial value within India.
