Examine the potential of wind energy in India and explain the reasons for their limited spatial spread.
Approach · directive: “examine / explain”
What it asks · Two parts: how large India's wind-power potential is, and why installations are concentrated in a few states.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Examine the potential of wind energy in India: how large it is and where it lies
- Explain the reasons for its limited spatial spread
Open with · India is among the world's top four countries in installed wind capacity, yet most of it sits in a handful of states.
Cover
- Potential: NIWE puts onshore potential at about 302 GW at 100 m and 695.5 GW at 120 m hub height; MNRE places 676.55 GW of the latter in eight states.
- Where it works: Tamil Nadu (Palghat and Aralvaimozhi gaps), Gujarat (Kutch, Saurashtra), Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh hold most capacity.
- Resource limits: strong winds come mostly in monsoon months and in gaps and coastal belts; the Himalayan, eastern and central plains have low speeds.
- Land and terrain: turbines need open, windy, unforested land; fragmented holdings, forest and environmental clearances and competing uses slow site development.
- Grid and finance: sites lie far from demand, evacuation lines are weak, curtailment occurs and distribution companies delay payments.
- Policy: state-specific tariffs and incentives concentrated early growth; auctions, hybrid parks, repowering, low-wind-speed turbines and offshore projects can widen the spread.
Close with · Wider spread needs better wind mapping, transmission and state policies, and turbines that work at lower wind speeds.
Add value (verified)
- MNRE (wind overview, citing NIWE's assessment): gross onshore potential is 695.50 GW at 120 m and 1163.9 GW at 150 m, and eight windy states (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh) hold 676.55 GW of the 695.50 GW at 120 m. Wind Energy Overview — Ministry of New and Renewable Energy ↗“The recent assessment indicates a gross wind power potential of 695.50 at 120 meter and 1163.9 GW at 150 meter above ground level. Most of this potential exists in eight windy States”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 224 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
India is among the world's top four in installed wind capacity, yet nearly all of it sits in a few southern and western states.
Potential
- NIWE estimates onshore potential at about 302 GW at 100 m and 695.5 GW at 120 m hub height, rising with taller turbines; the Gujarat and Tamil Nadu coasts add offshore prospects.
- The best sites are Tamil Nadu's Palghat and Aralvaimozhi gaps, Gujarat's Kutch and Saurashtra, and the plateaus of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
Reasons for limited spread
- Resource geography: strong, steady winds occur only in coastal belts, mountain gaps and open plateaus; MNRE's assessment places 676.55 of the 695.5 GW in just eight states, while the Gangetic plains, the Northeast and the Himalaya have weak or turbulent winds.
- Land and clearances: turbines need open, unforested, windy land; fragmented holdings, forest clearances and competing uses slow projects.
- Grid: sites lie far from load centres; weak evacuation lines, curtailment and payment delays by distribution companies deter investors.
- Policy: state feed-in tariffs and accelerated depreciation concentrated early growth; central auctions favour the cheapest sites.
- Way out: a finer wind atlas, Green Energy Corridors, hybrid and repowering policies, low-wind-speed turbines and offshore auctions.
India's wind resource is large but unevenly placed; spreading it needs transmission, land and turbines suited to lower wind speeds, not more capacity where it already exists.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.