Wind energy

Also called: Wind power · Topic: Energy Resources of India: Conventional and Non-conventional · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 5 "Minerals and Energy Resources"; Class 12, Ch 5 "Mineral and Energy Resources"

Meaning

Wind energy (also called wind power) is electricity made when moving air turns the blades of a wind turbine. It is pollution-free because nothing is burnt, and it is renewable because wind does not run out.

It matters because India has the world's fourth-largest installed wind capacity. Wind is now the second main source of renewable power after solar in India's 500 GW non-fossil target for 2030 (verify current).

Explanation

How a wind turbine works

• Cause: moving air has kinetic energy (the energy of motion).
• Process:
• The wind pushes on the large blades of a wind turbine and makes them spin.

• The blades turn a shaft joined to a generator.

• Result: the generator makes electricity. Nothing is burnt, so there is no smoke and no pollution.

• Installed capacity is the most power the machines can produce. It is not the same as the power they actually make, which depends on how hard the wind blows.

Which winds can be used (NCERT Class 12)

• Planetary winds blow all year over large belts of the Earth.
• Trade winds blow towards the equator.

• Westerlies blow towards the poles in the middle latitudes.

• Monsoon winds change direction with the season.

• In India the south-west monsoon gives the strongest winds, from about May to September.

• Local winds such as land and sea breezes blow along coasts.

• By day they blow from sea to land.
• By night they blow from land to sea.

Conditions a good wind site needs

• Strong, steady winds. Steady wind gives more electricity from each turbine.
• Nothing blocking the wind. Hills, trees and buildings slow it down.
• Best places:
• Coasts, where sea breezes and monsoon winds arrive with nothing in the way.
• Mountain passes, where the wind is squeezed and speeds up. This is called the funnel effect.
• Open, flat deserts, where the wind blows freely.

Types: onshore and offshore

• Onshore wind uses turbines on land, in passes, on coasts and in deserts.
• Offshore wind uses turbines placed in the sea, away from the coast.
• Nothing blocks the wind at sea, so it is stronger and steadier than on land.
• It costs more to build, so it needs government support.

Feature	Onshore wind	Offshore wind
Location	On land: passes, coasts, deserts	In the sea, off the coast
Wind	Weaker and less steady (blocked by land features)	Stronger and steadier
Cost	Lower	Higher (needs VGF support)
Indian examples	Muppandal (Tamil Nadu), Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), Gujarat	Zones off Gujarat and Tamil Nadu

Where it occurs

India: onshore

• Muppandal, Kanyakumari district (Tamil Nadu):
• It lies at the southern tip of the peninsula, at about 8°N, and is India's best-known wind farm area.
• It is part of India's largest wind cluster, which runs from Nagercoil to Madurai.

• Why it is so windy (the Aralvaimozhi gap):

  • The Aralvaimozhi gap is a low pass at the southern end of the Western Ghats.
  • The south-west monsoon wind is squeezed through this narrow gap.
  • Squeezed air speeds up (the funnel effect), so Muppandal gets strong, steady wind.

• Jaisalmer (Rajasthan): this site is in the Thar Desert. Its flat, open land lets the wind blow freely.

• Leading states: Gujarat is first and Tamil Nadu is second in installed wind capacity.
• Other major states (NCERT): Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
• Current size: India's installed wind capacity was 58,520.32 MW (about 58.5 GW) as of 31 August 2026 [3].
• Large hydro capacity was 52,064.67 MW on the same date, so wind capacity is now larger than large hydro capacity [3].

India: offshore

• Target: 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
• First zones:
• Off the coast of Gujarat, in the Arabian Sea.

• Off the coast of Tamil Nadu, on the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay side.

• Who runs it: MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy).

• Leasing rules: MNRE notified the Offshore Wind Energy Lease Rules, 2023 on 20 December 2023. These rules set how areas of the seabed are leased to developers [4].
• Viability gap funding (VGF) was approved in 2024.
• VGF is a one-time government grant that pays part of the building cost.
• This keeps the project's power cheap enough for electricity companies to buy.

World

• Planetary winds such as the trade winds and the westerlies give steady wind over large belts of the Earth. Coasts, mountain passes and open deserts are the best sites everywhere.

Don't confuse with

• Tidal energy: this uses the rise and fall of the sea, which the pull of the Moon and the Sun causes. Wind energy uses moving air. India has no large tidal plant yet, but it does have large wind farms.
• Offshore wind vs onshore wind: offshore turbines stand in the sea, where the wind is stronger and steadier but building costs more (it needs VGF). Onshore turbines stand on land, as at Muppandal and Jaisalmer.
• Geothermal energy: this uses heat from inside the Earth and is available round the clock whatever the weather [2]. Wind is seasonal: it is strong during the south-west monsoon and weak in winter.
• Installed capacity vs electricity actually produced: installed capacity is the most the machines can produce. A wind farm produces less when the wind is weak.

Prelims Hooks

• Muppandal → Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. Its winds are funnelled through the Aralvaimozhi gap in the southern Western Ghats. India's largest wind cluster runs from Nagercoil to Madurai.
• Leading wind states: Gujarat first, Tamil Nadu second. India is fourth in the world in installed wind capacity.
• Installed wind capacity: 58,520.32 MW (about 58.5 GW) as of 31 August 2026, which is more than large hydro's 52,064.67 MW [3].
• Jaisalmer → Rajasthan (Thar Desert): its flat, open land lets the wind blow freely.
• Offshore wind: the target is 30 GW by 2030, with the first zones off Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The Offshore Wind Energy Lease Rules were notified on 20 December 2023 [4], and VGF was approved in 2024.
• Trap: wind is not round-the-clock power. It peaks in the south-west monsoon (about May to September). Among wind, tidal and geothermal energy, only geothermal is round-the-clock and weather-independent [2].

Mains Points

• Distribution follows physical geography (GS-I):
• Relief channels the wind: the Aralvaimozhi gap squeezes the south-west monsoon and makes Muppandal very windy.
• Open deserts such as Jaisalmer let the wind blow freely.

• Windy coasts such as Gujarat's, and the sea off Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, suit onshore and offshore farms.

• Role and limits in the energy mix (GS-III):

• Wind (about 58.5 GW in August 2026) [3] is the second pillar of renewable power after solar in the 500 GW non-fossil target for 2030.
• It is seasonal: strong in the south-west monsoon and weak in winter. This makes it hard to keep the power grid balanced.

• Steady base-load sources such as geothermal (power that is needed all day and night) can fill this gap [2].

• Problems and policy responses (GS-III):

• Offshore wind is costly. It needs a seabed leasing system, VGF and upgraded ports.
• Responses: the Offshore Wind Energy Lease Rules, 2023 [4], VGF approval in 2024, and the 30 GW offshore target for 2030.

Related concepts

• Offshore wind energy
• Tidal energy
• Ocean thermal energy conversion
• Geothermal energy

Read more

• Wind, tidal, ocean and geothermal energy