India weighs replacing old wind turbines to boost capacity by 50% without acquiring land

India is weighing replacing aging wind turbines with larger, more efficient machines to boost generation at older farms without having to acquire more land.

As much as 8 gigawatts of capacity using old and smaller turbines can be upgraded with modern units, according to a preliminary assessment by the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association, Chief Executive Officer Aditya Pyasi said in an interview. The lobby group is in talks with federal and state governments to finalize a plan that could help increase capacity at those sites by almost 50%.

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Wind power has become increasingly important for India to meet peak electricity demand after sunset. Although the country’s green power capacity has quadrupled since 2014, wind installations have lagged far behind solar, with land acquisition and securing right-of-way remaining major hurdles to faster deployment. That — coupled with limited battery storage — has left the grid struggling to absorb excess daytime generation, forcing solar curtailments while creating shortfalls at night.

Installations reached a record 6.3 gigawatts in 2025. Still, wind project deployment remains below the pace needed to meet India’s 2030 goal of 500 gigawatts clean power capacity. Replacing older turbines of as much as 2 megawatts with modern 3- to 5-megawatt units at existing sites could help sidestep land-access hurdles.

IWTMA is working with windy states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka to firm up an implementation plan, Pyasi said. “While the longer-term potential is around 25 gigawatts, our assessment shows that we can begin repowering 5 to 8 gigawatts immediately.”

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Globally, 178 gigawatts of wind power projects built before 2010 will be available for retrofitting by 2030, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, which sees repowering as an important tool to meet the target of tripling global renewable energy capacity by the end of this decade.

“Repowering onshore wind is not a technical footnote. It is a strategic imperative,” IRENA said in a webcast presentation in June.

In 2023, India’s renewable energy ministry estimated that about 25 gigawatts of projects, roughly 40% of the country’s current installed wind capacity, use turbines smaller than 2 megawatts. These could be repowered with newer equipment. Modern turbines can exceed 5 megawatts and stand more than 100 meters tall, allowing them to tap into stronger, unobstructed winds and generate more electricity for every acre of land occupied.