NEW DELHI, Nov. 2, 2026 /debcubspark.com-DigiTIMES./ — The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has released its macro-level study, Reassessment of Wind Energy Potential in India: Wind Energy Potential and Pathways for Industry Utilisation. The GIS-based assessment estimates India’s onshore wind potential at 1,209.7 GW at 150 m and 2,933.9 GW at 200 m, while offshore potential is estimated at approximately 220 GW and 277 GW, respectively, at a minimum wind speed of 7.0 m/s. The study identifies priority areas for further resource validation and outlines pathways to strengthen wind development, supporting infrastructure and industry capabilities.
The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has previously assessed India’s wind potential using specified hub heights and assessment parameters. As turbine hub heights increase and wind technology evolves, reassessing the resource at greater heights can help inform future wind energy planning. TERI’s study evaluates onshore wind potential at hub heights of 150 m and 200 m and examines offshore potential under different wind-speed thresholds and assessment cases.
India’s installed wind capacity stood at 59.20 GW on 30 September 2026, following record additions of about 6.05 GW in FY2025–26. As India’s electricity demand grows and renewable energy deployment expands, a better understanding of wind resources can help inform generation planning, renewable energy procurement, and transmission investment. The reassessment provides an updated resource estimate to support planning for the next phase of wind energy deployment.
Key findings
| Assessment | Resource criteria | Reference case potential (GW) | |
| Wind Speed | Wind Power Density | ||
| Onshore wind at 150 m | ≥5.0 m/s | ≥200 W/m² | 1,209.7 |
| Onshore wind at 200 m | ≥5.0 m/s | ≥200 W/m² | 2,933.9 |
| Offshore wind at 150 m | ≥7.0 m/s | ≥300 W/m² | 220.3 |
| Offshore wind at 200 m | ≥7.0 m/s | ≥300 W/m² | 276.6 |
Onshore wind potential at 150 m: 1,210 GW, about 3.9% above the 1,163.9 GW in NIWE’s 150 m Wind Potential Atlas. Rajasthan (268.9 GW), Gujarat (247.6 GW) and Karnataka (227.0 GW) together account for approximately 61% of the estimated potential at 150 m. Including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu brings the combined share to around 79%.
Onshore wind potential at 200 m: 2,934 GW. The area identified as suitable for wind development expands from approximately 0.30 million km² at 150 m to 0.73 million km² at 200 m. The assessment also identifies potential in states not traditionally associated with large-scale wind development, including Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Offshore wind potential: The study estimates offshore wind potential of 220.2 GW at 150 m and 276.6 GW at 200 m (≥7.0 m/s). At 150 m, the estimated potential is 91.8 GW at a wind-speed threshold of 7.5 m/s and 79.2 GW at 8.0 m/s. At 200 m, the corresponding estimates are 104.2 GW and 81.2 GW.
Implications for India’s Energy Transition
TERI’s latest electricity-transition study projects roughly an 11x increase in India’s on-grid electricity demand by 2070. Its Net Zero scenario includes 891 GW of wind capacity by 2070, illustrating the scale of possible expansion under one set of technology-cost and system assumptions. As India plans for its net-zero objective, more spatially resolved wind assessments can help test where renewable capacity can realistically be developed and which investments in transmission, flexibility and manufacturing are needed.
The wind potential assessment extends TERI’s national renewable-resource reassessment programme. Its 2025 solar reassessment estimated 10,830 GW of solar potential across several application categories. Together, these assessments can support more informed decisions about the mix, geography and infrastructure requirements of future renewable-energy development.
From potential to projects
The report identifies six pathways for industry utilisation: greenfield onshore development, repowering of existing wind farms, higher-hub-height wind development, wind-solar-storage integration and industrial procurement, fixed-bottom offshore wind, and floating offshore wind.
It proposes a phased roadmap:
- Short term (0–2 years): Identify priority onshore areas through detailed GIS assessment; undertake long-term wind measurements at selected 200 m locations; prepare an inventory of existing turbines to identify repowering opportunities; and advance offshore resource surveys and studies of small and distributed wind applications.
- Medium term (2–5 years): Coordinate identified wind areas with transmission and grid-infrastructure planning; develop cluster-based repowering projects; assess annual energy production and project economics; and advance fixed-bottom offshore project preparation, including port and supply-chain requirements.
- Long term (>5 years): Update national wind-potential estimates periodically; advance floating offshore wind through technology evaluation and demonstration; strengthen offshore infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities; and integrate wind, solar, storage and transmission into long-term energy planning.
Implementation will require coordination among government agencies, research institutions, transmission utilities, state nodal agencies and industry.
Important caveats
The figures represent indicative, macro-level GIS-screened wind potential, based on modelled wind data, specified resource thresholds and assumed capacity densities of 4.0 MW/km² for onshore wind and 4.5 MW/km² for offshore wind. They should not be interpreted as installable capacity or as estimates of commercially viable projects. They do not account for land ownership, micro-siting, transport routes, grid evacuation capacity or detailed seabed and marine-use conditions. The study complements, and does not replace, NIWE’s wind atlases and project-level assessments. Repowering, small and distributed wind, and annual generation were not assessed.
